Powerhouse or poorhouse? Why the north-east fears devolution won’t help

In Tyneside and Co Durham, braced for news of more cuts in Wednesday's budget, there is doubt the 'Devo Manc' model will make it across the Pennines

Peterlee, near Sunderland, was once a mining town. Now, it's home to a vast, hi-tech manufacturing plant for US truck-maker Caterpillar. In every direction, blue-overalled workers clamber over the massive yellow vehicles, whose tyres are taller than a man, brandishing drills or lowering giant parts meticulously into place from ceiling-mounted hoists.

Chris Fairs, the human resources manager, explains that his staff manufacture almost every part of the vehicles here: rolled steel comes in, giant trucks roll out, in what they call a "plate to gate" process. Many of the workers are former miners, or welders from the defunct Sunderland shipyards. "This is a world-class manufacturing facility," he says.