Dragon Bannatyne backs rail campaign

The entrepreneur, whose business is based in Darlington, said the North-East was a great place to do business and he could understand why Hitachi wanted to bring the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) to Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

The backing comes as the region awaits the Government’s decision on IEP – a project to replace Britain’s ageing fleet of InterCity 125s.

The Hitachi-led Agility Trains consortium, which is the preferred bidder, has pledged to build an assembly plant in the town if it secures the contract.

Mr Bannatyne said: “This factory will create 800 jobs directly, plus thousands of others in the supply chain.

“Hitachi’s investment would be the biggest the North-East has seen since Nissan in the Eighties.

“The plan will help economic growth in the region and rebalance the economy in favour of the private sector, especially manufacturing.”

The Back on Track campaign has been launched by The Northern Echo, together with MP Phil Wilson, Durham County Council, the North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC), Northern TUC, and the Unite union to bring Hitachi to the region.

Darlington MP Jenny Chapman last night welcomed Mr Bannatyne’s support, which she said added momentum to the campaign.

She said: “Duncan Bannatyne is a shrewd operator.

He knows a good decision when he sees one. Duncan has always been a strong supporter of Darlington because it is an excellent place to do business.

“He knows what a difference having Hitachi at Newton Aycliffe will make to the economy in our region and I am delighted to have his support.”

NECC chief executive James Ramsbotham said the region’s business community was urging the Government to proceed with Hitachi’s proposal.

He said: “Securing this investment will be a major boost to the North-East and is backed by the whole of the region’s business community.”

Campaigners are concerned that IEP could go to a rival bid that they said was unlikely to create any British jobs.