A new business park is likely to boost the region's job prospects.

Newcastle developer Hillford Group is well advanced with constructing the first of three purpose-built call centre facilities located at Peterlee's Whitehouse Point Business Park, in the East Durham Enterprise Zone.

The centres will provide almost 1,900 jobs for Peterlee once they are fully operational.

The Hillford Group's £20m investment was triggered by the rise of the call centre industry in the region.

Facilities along the A19 corridor have created thousands of jobs and made the zone a centre of opportunity and excellence for the industry.

Hillford contracted Mansell to build the development and it is completing the first unit, Point One, which will accommodate 900 workers when is is fully occupied.

The second phase, Point Two and Point Three, will have space for 1,000 more.

Struan Gunn, of joint letting agents Storey Sons and Parker, said "We are extremely confident of agreeing leases quickly with operators for these new facilities."

Dr John Bridge, chairman of the regional development agency One NorthEast, said; "There is a high level of demand for quality schemes like this within East Durham Enterprise Zone."