New regeneration partnership for South-East Northumberland

It plans to build on successes and achievements over the past eight years in towns such as Blyth, Cramlington, Ashington, Bedlington and Newbiggin-by-the Sea - as well as the former Castle Morpeth coalfield villages of Linton, Ellington and Lynemouth.

In that time the Wansbeck Initiative, the Blyth Valley Local Strategic Partnership and Advancing Castle Morpeth have attracted significant investment into their areas to help get almost 2,000 people off benefits and back into work, as well as improving their health and educational attainments.

Now SENAP - which will take over the work of the three separate strategic partnerships - has held its inaugural meeting at the Woodhorn Museum and Archives Centre near Ashington.

The meeting was attended by senior councillors and officers from the new unitary council, local MPs Ronnie Campbell and Denis Murphy and representatives of community and voluntary groups, business forums, education and employment organisations, the local Care Trust and Northumbria Police.

David Nicholson, who chairs the Wansbeck Initiative, said: "Despite everything the three LSPs have achieved, we still live in an area of overwhelming need.

"So our job for the future is to continue to attract the resources to address those fundamental problems of worklessness, health and the lack of opportunities for people to improve their lives.''

Coun Jeff Reid, leader of the county council, said partnership working would be an essential element of the new unitary authority. "This type of partnership is the bedrock on which the new authority will move forward.''