James Mills is a web developer in the North East of England and founder of Refresh Teesside »
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Karen McLauchlan is the Evening Gazette's deputy business and features editor - with special interest in all things industry, property and arts related » 
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Deloitte, which has 23 offices across the UK including Newcastle, is among the country's leading professional services firms » 
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The grand masterplan for a £4bn enterprise zone network has raised a series of intriguing questions.
On the face of it, the vast scale of the plan, which aims to create 43,000 jobs over the next 25 years, is one of the most ambitious Teesside has ever seen.
The burning question is whether it will be achievable.
Will 24 zones spread across Teesside have more impact than one or two large zones?
Will they be able to attract the level of investment needed to allow the region to compete on a global scale?
What will the local authorities do with the thousands of pounds of revenue from business rates?
Exactly what capital allowances will companies in these zones receive?
And will the project be dogged by petty-minded, parochial in-fighting that has undermined the region in the past?
Business leaders have been generally supportive of the plans - but many are reserving judgment until the finer details have been ironed out.
Some are worried that local authorities will have too much influence in what has been described as a private sector-led venture.
Others say too many zones will dilute the impact of the project and make it harder for Teesside to compete against the Manchesters and Londons of this world.
These questions will be academic if central Government fails to give the plans the go-ahead.
That is by no means certain because the local enterprise partnership has asked for much more than ministers were originally willing to give.
As well as business rate relief, to which the Government has already agreed, the LEP has asked for additional tax breaks and huge capital allowances to be given to large, energy-intensive manufacturers.
Before the plans go before ministers, the LEP is holding a fresh round of talks with the local private sector.
The partnership has already faced criticism for running under its own head of steam without enough consultation with businesses.
It will not do for bosses to start criticising the project once it is up and running.
Now is the time to make their voices heard.
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