A LEADING North East businessman says the region must lose a “dependency culture” that goes back generations.

Sir Ian Wrigglesworth drew a parallel between the region today and the time of Lord Armstrong, the Tyneside-born 19th Century industrialist.

He was speaking on the last day for submitting bids to the first round of a new £1.4bn fund to support private sector growth in regions worst hit by public sector cuts.

Sir Ian, vice chairman of the Independent Advisory Panel for applications to the Regional Growth Fund (RGF), said regional businesses stood a good chance of accessing its riches.

Over three dozen bids, with the potential to create thousands of jobs, are believed to have been submitted from the North East for the £300m that is being made available in the first tranche.

Businesses in all English regions submitted bids before the deadline of midnight last night but Sir Ian believes the North East and three other regions will be in pole position.

Sir Ian, chairman of the Port of Tyne company and deputy on the board to Lord Heseltine, said he expects the £1.4bn RGF to generate at least a further £10bn of private sector investment. Speaking at a meeting on the region’s property sector in Newcastle yesterday, he also argued that the region needs to shake free from its dependence on the public sector.

“Since the 1930s the region has had a dependency culture,” he said.

“That culture has spread to the private sector where many businesses would not get out of bed without having a Government grant.

“That attitude has to change. Lord Armstrong would not have been seen running off to the RDA (the soon to be abolished regional development agency One North East).”

However, he went on to say there have been major changes in the last 15 years and there were signs of an entrepreneurial culture taking hold. He believes the money will be shared around four regions, as other parts of the UK are not sufficiently affected to qualify.