Work has begun on a project which could bring up to 2,000 new posts to a jobs-blighted area of Northumberland. Regeneration agency One NorthEast hopes the scheme will help to offset recent blows to the area's economy, including the closure of Ellington Colliery. A 140-acre site at North Seaton, near Ashington is being redeveloped to house a state-of-the-art business park. More than £7 million in public cash has been earmarked for the project, which it is hoped will attract private developers. A further £1.2 million is coming from the European Regional Development Fund.