THE Mayor of London has backed a bid by Tottenham Hotspur for public funds for its new stadium project.

Spurs put in a Regional Growth Fund bid to help the Northumberland Development Project to build a new 56,000-seater stadium in Tottenham.

Mayor Boris Johnson today said of the stadium plans: “This has the potential to inject considerable investment in stadium led regeneration in the heart of the local community.

“This level of investment will safeguard existing jobs, create considerably more local employment opportunities as well as enhance the public realm and vibrancy of the whole of Tottenham."

The bid signals the club's return to attempts to build a new home in Haringey rather than looking for sites further afield including its doomed bid for the Olympic Stadium.

If granted, regional growth money would be put towards infrastructure improvements, including train station upgrades, improve public spaces, protection for listed buildings and utilities upgrades.

The club has long argued other developments such as north London rival Arsenal's Emirates Stadium project was helped by significant injections of public funds, but its own efforts have so far not attracted the same level of support.

The club believes it should be supported as its stadium project would be a major driver for regeneration and help tackle unemployment and deprivation in the area.