THE North-west is the solution to an over congested South-east, according to a regional agency director.

Bryan Gray, Chairman of the Northwest Development Agency said in a speech at the Bank of England dinner in Manchester that redeveloping vacant or available North-west land would divert pressure away from the South-east.

And he added investing in the North's transport infrastructure was needed to provide an efficient alternative to the congested South-east roads.

He said: "I simply want to point out that the South-east has its problems and we are part of the solution."

He added: "In the North-west we have 57,000 hectares of previously used land that is vacant or available for redevelopment -- almost 20 per cent of the national total."