Nearing completion
Norma Redfearn, mayor of North Tyneside Commerce, said it sees the Northern Powerhouse as potentially the most critical element in achieving this.
He said: “It would prove they are serious about closing the gap between London and the rest of the country.”
Mr Smith said the Chamber met with Mr Berry when he was first appointed Northern Powerhouse minister and there has since been an exchange of letters.
He said: “It was very constructive, saying all the right things, so that was very positive. But the time for saying all the right things is passing, the time for doing all the right things is here.
“He’s not a new minister now. He needs to get to grips with his portfolio. We hope to see him delivering on things he was talking about as quickly as possible.”
Mr Smith also said that while Creator of the Northern Powerhouse concept George Osborne has left Parliament, with the Tories rattling through three ministers in a year the government needed to get a North of Tyne devolution deal over the line as soon as possible – within months rather than years – the door must not be shut on those local authorities south of the Tyne not involved in the talks, offering them the opportunity to join at a later date if there is a change of heart.
He said the deal was “not the be-all and end-all but it’s a start”.