MORE than 800 jobs are set to be created in the region after plans for a £50m import centre on Teesside were approved.

PD Ports will now begin construction of the warehouse at Teesport, in Middlesbrough, after Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council gave the scheme the go-ahead this afternoon.

Hundreds more jobs are also expected to be created by local suppliers and distributors as a knock-on effect of the 1.2m sq ft facility.

The decision - which comes only months after PD Ports were given permission to construct a deep sea terminal at Teesport, creating up to 5,500 jobs in the region - was hailed as a huge boost for the North-East.

David Robinson, group chief executive at PD Ports, said: "This is another very important day for us and for the whole region."

For the full story, see The Northern Echo tomorrow