EASINGWOLD has been singled out as a success story by rural campaigners at a time when many other small market towns are said to be in danger of losing their distinctive character.

Barnard Castle has also been praised for its market attractions and its shops by the Campaign to Protect Rural England, which has a branch in every county and claims to represent a powerful combination of local action and national lobbying.

The CPRE organised a six-month health check of 120 market towns last year and, in a report published on Wednesday, declared that many were afflicted by what it described as "creeping blandness."

Just over half of the town surveys were completed by CPRE members, the rest being undertaken by outside organisations such as civic societies, women's institutes and town councils. All the surveys asked 12 questions about important aspects of character, distinctiveness and attractiveness.

The health check placed Easingwold, Barnard Castle and Guisborough among 20 towns which it said stood out as demonstrating good practice, appearing to perform at the top end of the range, although none was entirely free of the problems which affected the other settlements under review.

The check found many towns threatened by bland and uniform new development, leaving them with serious traffic congestion and services stretched to the limit.

Others were in danger of becoming dormitories, with new housing development only increasing the numbers commuting to work outside. Some had been hard hit by major external shopping developments which had sucked the lifeblood out of local high streets.

CPRE head of rural policy Tom Oliver said: "Many of our market towns do not have the capacity to cope with major new development.

"Towns are also suffering badly from development which damages their individual character, is insensitively sited or which threatens local businesses.

"Traffic and congestion within towns is rising and the car increasingly dominates travel patterns, often to the detriment of pedestrians.

"Local employment is suffering and local businesses are often undermined by the increasing presence of large national retailers."

Mr Oliver said important contributors to loss of distinctive character in market towns were new buildings which did not incorporate local materials or styles and the failure of shops to sell anything produced locally.

He added: "This erosion of character and attractiveness matters, and not just to the millions of people who live and work in these small towns.

"Our distinctive market towns are part of the lifeblood of the English countryside. They help attract visitors from home and overseas and contribute to rural prosperity."

The CPRE report said the case of Easingwold offered hope, showing what could be achieved if local councils and people acted wisely. The town had built on a good setting and well conserved heritage, key ingredients of its success including community spirit and civic pride, its market and good planning.

The report warned, however, that the greatest threat to Easingwold would come from indiscriminate over development of the housing stock or major industrial development causing noise, air pollution and heavy traffic problems.

Mick Jewitt, head of planning policy and economic development at Hambleton District Council, said: "Easingwold is just one example, but our planning policies put considerable emphasis on maintaining the character of all our market towns and they have strong design policies within them.

"We have also been very careful about where development is located and where there have been large scale housing developments have ensured that these have been undertaken in accordance with an agreed development brief.

"The Claypenny Hospital development at Easingwold was in accordance with a council brief and has led to a high-quality development that reflects local character. The brief emphasised the need for a unique local design rather than builders imposing standard design solutions."

The CPRE report said markets, special events and green spaces all contributed towards the growth of community spirit in rural towns and this was often reinforced by the presence of community groups and societies.

The report said the general and farmers' markets were a great attraction for Barnard Castle, as were the regular flea markets and antique shops.

Carol Hudson, programme manager of Guisborough market town initiative, said: "Many of the concerns expressed by the CPRE are issues which the initiative has sought to address."

She said the initiative was working with Gisborough Estates to establish popular monthly speciality markets and was supporting an events programme, the Guisborough cycle initiative, the Gisborough Priory project celebrating the heritage of the town and the priory and the Chapel Beck partnership, which was looking to regenerate the beck as a leisure amenity for residents and visitors.

Town mayor Coun Anne Franklin said: "This is excellent news. It proves everyone is working together and we are beginning to see the success of the market town initiative. This is only the beginning."

At Barnard Castle, town mayor Coun John Yarker attributed its success to quality people and businesses and the fact that it did not rely too heavily on tourism.

Local towns which failed to make the top 20 in the survey included Northallerton, Pickering, Saltburn and Stanhope.

* Leading article: page 26.