THE North-East and North Yorkshire will lose £665m of EU funding after 2020 when “Brexit” goes ahead, it was revealed yesterday.

Tees Valley alone receives the second highest level of funding in England, at £243 per head between 2014 and 2020, a total of £162m.

The rest of the North-East gets £430m, or £221 per head, the third highest in England, while North Yorkshire, York and East Yorkshire receive significantly less at £73m, or £42 per head.

The UK as a whole receives £8.6 billion.

The Northern Powerhouse is at risk of “withering” and the Government needs a plan to boost the poorest regions after 2020, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) argued yesterday.

The “Leave” campaign pledged to honour existing EU grants until 2020, including funds for regional development, but the Government should have comprehensive plans in place to help regional economies after that to ensure they do not fall further behind, the JRF argued.

Helen Barnard, head of analysis at JRF, said: “The referendum campaign and its aftermath has exposed the extent to which people in the poorest places feel shut out from the benefits of the country’s prosperity.

“We urge the government to ensure allocated funding is not lost, but that it also has a long-term plan in place to improve living standards in struggling areas. “Otherwise important initiatives like the Northern Powerhouse risk withering after Brexit.

“Brexit must be used to ensure we create an economy where prosperity is shared by all and no area is left behind. This means supporting the Northern Powerhouse and the core cities, but also the overlooked towns beyond them, which often miss out and which need to see real improvements over the next few years.”

Anna Turley, MP for Redcar, who has highlighted the issue of lost funding, said: “This analysis shows why the government must make sure Teesside does not lose a single penny of funding to boost jobs and growth in our area.

“Teesside and the wider North East have received millions in regional development funding from the EU which has funded projects like the regeneration of Redcar sea front. Many more millions of pounds were due to be allocated to Teesside over the coming years too.

“The Leave campaign promised that leaving Europe would release more money to spend how we want. They must now honour this commitment by protecting areas like Teesside and guaranteeing any lost funding is made up by the government.”