THE chairman of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership has warned it faces its first major test of its unity in deciding on the location of a new enterprise zone.

Paul Walker, the former chief executive of software giant Sage, was announced as interim chairman of the new LEP for the north of the region last month.

The North East LEP was finally established after a protracted period of negotiations surrounding how many of the new bodies there should be in the region. A separate LEP has been set up covering Teesside.

In his first major interview since his appointment, Mr Walker warned that the region – and the Government – will watch the new LEP closely in its early days.

And he admitted making a decision over where to base the new enterprise zone – where companies will benefit from tax breaks and simplified planning rules – will test the unity of the new body, in particular its seven local authority representatives.

“Trying to keep politics out of that (decision) is going to be difficult,” he told nebusiness magazine, which is published free with The Journal tomorrow. “It goes without saying that it’s going to be a very interesting process.

“My comment to the council leaders was this is our first test of us showing unity and demonstrating to the wider community and the Government that we can be collaborative and exercise appropriate judgment.”