Derwentside District Council leader Alex Watson said: "For me, it is a success story with a tragic end. It has improved the quality of life and created opportunities to get into the music field and develop people's talents.

"They have a good record for that. It has meant a lot to the region and Consett and Derwentside in particular.

"It helped people develop talents they perhaps did not know they have."

He said Northern Recording was established at a time when the area was reeling from huge job losses.

He said: "There is a debt to John Kearney and his wife, Mary. They saw there was a need for it."

He said funding bids for a new studio probably failed because funding was channelled to projects such as The Sage and The Baltic, on Tyneside.

He added the council hoped another studio could be built on the Berry Edge site and that a project such as Making Music Work could be developed with the county council.