THE town that is spearheading a campaign launched by The Northern Echo has joined forces with a national action group.

Yesterday, we launched Shopping for a Future, a drive to support the businesses at the heart of communities across south Durham.

Traders in Bishop Auckland have vowed to tackle the problems faced by the town and to promote the benefits of people shopping in their nearest town.

Their efforts now have backing from the support group, Action for Market Towns (AMT), which Bishop Auckland Town Centre Forum has just joined.

AMT, with support from the Countryside Agency, offers information and advice to market towns and will enable Bishop Auckland to share ideas with similar communities.

Ken Wilson, Bishop Auckland's town centre manager, said: "The problems and opportunities faced by Bishop Auckland are similar to those faced by other market towns.

"Being a member of Action for Market Towns gives us the opportunity to network and learn good practice, rather than struggle alone."

* The multi-storey car park at the Newgate Centre shopping centre, which is undergoing a £2m refurbishment, has re-opened.

Sam and Lesley Zair, who are caf owners and residents of Fore Bondgate, said businesses suffered when the car park shut and many had not yet recovered.

A spokesman for Asda said: "We were keen to get the car park open as soon as possible.

"It had to be closed for health and safety reasons because of the building work, complicated by bad weather, so we made sure it was safe for drivers and pedestrians to use before re-opening."