A RETAIL expert has been in the region to cast his eye over a North-East town's high street as he works on his plan to reinvent the shopping experience.

Bill Grimsey, who previously headed up Wickes and Iceland, led an influential independent review back in 2013 but is to revisiting the subject other retail giants continue to abandon the High Street.

The outspoken business expert was full of praise when he visited Stockton yesterday but admits there is a significant amount of work to do as the retail industry changes forever.

"Five years ago I went around the country looking at the health of High Streets – some towns listened to our recommendations and others didn't," he said.

"I'm really impressed with what Stockton is doing, the 90 events a year that the council is organising in the town centre is vital to its survival. Major retailers on the high street are becoming a thing of the past and we need to look at different ways of getting young people in.

"Out-of-town shopping centres and online retailers are killing off the traditional high street but there is still life in town centre's if you do things differently. Stockton is very lucky because it has visionary council that is looking at different ways to get people into town.

"When you look around the town, there is the Georgian Theatre which is a vital community resource for young people and once the Globe theatre is open for business, that will be the jewel in the crown.

"If a major retailer like Marks & Spencer leaves the town centre, they will be leaving behind a massive building which will be difficult to fill, so the community needs to work together to come up with solutions.

"I am so impressed by the work that has been done in the town centre and Stockton will be one of the case studies that I use in the updated report on the future of the high street."

The visit came just days after the chief executive of Marks & Spencer said that the multi-million pound investment of the town's High Street was not enough to persuade the company it had a long-term future in the town.

Chris Nimmo, the chairman of Stockton BID, welcomed the positive feedback from Mr Grimsey.

He said: "It's important to hear that we are getting some things right because we all know that High Streets up and down the country are changing.

"We are looking at different ways of getting people into the town centre and one of the most successful has been organising events such as last year when the beach was on the High Street."