North East Development
After the 1959 general election, Chetwynd was made an opposition spokesman on Aviation. He pressed for investment in the aviation industry, including the construction of a supersonic airliner. However, in late 1961 he was applied for and was offered the job of Director of the North East Development Council, giving him responsibility for selling the region to overseas investors. Chetwynd resigned his seat and took up the appointment in January 1962.
Shortly after his appointment Chetwynd began to 'sell' the North East region by giving a press conference for American firms where he argued that France was too politically unstable and West Germany had a labour shortage. Later that year, his annual report complained that the north east had received fewer government grants for industrial development than other regions. He objected to the London-centric economy of the United Kingdom and called for better transport infrastructure to redress it. The North East Development Council made several attempts to get a personal meeting with Harold Macmillan, then Prime Minister, in 1963. He often complained about the poor public image of the north-east.
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