A £340m development that would have made Teesside Airport one of the biggest freight handling hubs in Europe may never go ahead, officials admitted last night.

The scheme, which promised 6,000 jobs, has been branded "unrealistic" by airport bosses, who admitted it may never go ahead.

Doubts over the plan - which had been bitterly opposed by people in nearby villages - first surfaced last month when The Northern Echo revealed that no start date had been set for the scheme.

Mindful of the freight village blow, the airport has now been placed at the heart of a £26m economic regeneration of the Tees Valley.

A £6m partnership between the airport, development agency One NorthEast, and The Tees Valley Partnership was announced as part of a package of measures yesterday.

As part of the partnership plan, a major feasibility study will assess the needs of the international airport for the next 30 years.

Meanwhile, a £20m scheme to develop 40 acres of derelict land and regenerate the riverside in Stockton has been given the go-ahead.

The Stockton development, on the North bank of the River Tees, is expected to create more than 2,120 permanent jobs and almost 3,900 temporary jobs during construction.

The land is to the east of Stockton town centre, opposite the University of Durham Stockton Campus.

The north bank forms part of the land inherited by English Partnerships from the former Teesside Development Corporation.

It has been derelict since 1983, when its former use as a steelworks ceased.