DEPUTY Prime Minister John Prescott gave his seal of approval yesterday to a music centre held up as the jewel in the crown of a city's regeneration.

Mr Prescott, who was visiting the region as part of his role overseeing the work of the Social Exclusion Unit, and who later left his ministerial car behind and took the Tyne and Wear Metro to Newcastle Airport, said: "The Gateshead Music centre will be at the heart of Gateshead's redevelopment - providing a platform to showcase the North-East."

He said the centre would generate 600 jobs, act as the catalyst for further development, and tackle social exclusion by providing opportunities for young people.

Mr Prescott said: "This job-generating project will breathe new life into a previously neglected inner city site, providing an exciting new asset for the region.

"It is a prime example of how the Government wants to see local agencies working hand-in-hand, involving communities in fighting social exclusion and regenerating inner city areas."

More than 600,000 people of all ages will be able to use the music centre facilities when they open in 2003.

They will include a 1,650-seat concert hall, as well as a distinctive 400-seat hall and music education centre.

Mr Prescott, known by the nickname Two Jags and who is standing in for the Prime Minister who is on holiday, took the Metro from Central Station with Mike Parker, director general of Metro operator Nexus