THE positive surge in business confidence in February didn't last.

This could be due to the announcement of job losses both regionally and nationally, including the closure 126 Littlewoods Index stores, which could affect branches in Darlington's Cornmill Centre, Middlesbrough's Cleveland Centre and in Stockton. Each store employs about ten people.

It is the latest blow to the retail sector following the downfall of the department store chain Allders and the closure of the Gadget Shop's 65 outlets.

Business analyst Angus Allan, corporate finance partner at Clive Owen and Co, Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers, said: "The continuing slowdown on the high street may be worrying news for newly appointed developers of the town's Commercial Street shopping complex, Discovery Properties."

The £90m development will include restaurants, a nightclub and a cinema and sparked a bidding war after the previous developer, St Martin's Property Group, pulled out of the scheme last year.

Mr Allan said: "Coupled with falling consumer spending, retailers are being hit by increases of 15.7 per cent in business rates.

"According to the Federation of Small Businesses, UK businesses pay as much as three times more property taxes than their competitors in Europe."

Mr Allan said Darlington business owners had experienced increasing turnover levels during the month of March. This is in line with new research from Alliance and Leicester Commercial Bank, which reports 49 per cent of North-East businesses, experienced business performance in line with expectations and 39 per cent exceeded expectations during the past three months.

Despite the job losses, there has been some good news and nine jobs were created in Darlington in the bistro, Point Break, which opened at Lingfield Point.

The bistro will provide a healthy lunch option for the 1,500 people who work at the business park.

Looking ahead, the £170m development of Central Park, just off the town's Haughton Road, will create up to 2,000, but will take eight years to complete.

* The business index assesses local business activity based on figures from firms in and around Darlington over the past month. The index compares and assesses business performance with previous months.