Battle for jobs in line for top award

Oct 6 2006 By The Journal

The Go For Jobs campaign has been shortlisted for a prestigious national business award following its success in lifting road blocks on North-East employment.

It is in the running for the Campaign of the Year Award in the 2006 Chamber Awards.

Led jointly by The Journal, our sister paper on Teesside the Evening Gazette and the North East Chamber of Commerce, Go For Jobs called for an end to blocks by the Highways Agency on planning decisions for job-creating developments.

After securing an end to the agency's heavy-handed approach, Go For Jobs now aims to win improvements to the region's road network

NECC chief executive James Ramsbotham said: "The Go For Jobs campaign has taken enormous strides in raising a serious issue that was crippling development in key areas of the North-East.

"The first phase, tackling the tricky issue of blocking powers, known as Article 14 notices, brought to national prominence the Catch-22 situation facing the region where the Highways Agency was stopping economic growth on the grounds of congestion.

"The campaign has since evolved to highlight the wider and deeper issue of the legacy of underfunding in the North-East's most significant arterial road routes."

Journal editor Brian Aitken said: "It is great to see a campaign which has been of such importance to the region gain national recognition."

NECC estimated the orders - which give the agency the power to halt developments if it fears they will add traffic to major roads - were costing the region £1bn in investment and 10,000 potential jobs.

The British Chambers of Commerce awards will be in London on November 23.

Mr Ramsbotham said: "Work has still to be done to encourage the Government to commit money to back its recent rhetoric.

"Recognition at the Chamber Awards 2006 would once again raise the profile of the campaign and be just reward for what has been a tremendous partnership effort between the region's leading business membership organisation and two outstanding newspapers."