ORGANISATIONS across the region were today counting the cost of One North East's £32.9m funding cuts.

A range of support from business development to festivals across the entire region are affected by the cuts, which were confirmed at an agency board meeting last night.

High profile projects in the south of the region to be affected include the withdrawal of £1m for phase three of the Eastgate Renewable Energy Village in Weardale and over half-a-million pounds for infrastructure works around Durham Tees Valley Airport being scrapped.

A range of business support initiatives have also been scrapped or had their budgets sevrely reduced.

The regional development agency was told to find the savings in its budget of more than £260m as part of the Government's £6.2bn public sector spending cuts.

Alan Clarke, One North East Chief Executive, said: “This has been a difficult and painful process to manage and as far as possible cuts to business and private sector job creation have been minimised, but inevitably the cuts will have a major impact across all of our business and every part of the region.

“I fully appreciate the impact this will have on our partner organisations who we have contacted earlier today to inform them how the reductions will affect them.

“This is a very challenging time for One North East as we administer the wind down of the Agency and the transition of our activities in the best interests of the North East economy.

“We will work closely with our business and local authority partners who have the opportunity to build upon the firm foundations that now underpin the regional economy.”