A DALES market town - already named among the top ten places to live in Britain last week - has won further praise from a Euro MP.

Yorkshire and Humber's Timothy Kirkhope toured Richmond on Thursday to see for himself how the town is likely to spend £100,000 it has been awarded by regional development agency Yorkshire Forward.

After a morning with Town Centre Forum Company members, the Tory MEP indicated other communities could learn from Richmond's example.

"Things are happening here and that's the main thing," said Mr Kirkhope. "I think it is a very positive place and, if people are seen to be doing things to help themselves, then it gets a response from organisations such as Yorkshire Forward and the European Parliament."

The Richmond Town Centre Forward Company has been pioneering research on how the town can improve its lot over the past four years.

Town centre manager Colin Grant has been appointed to co-ordinate projects on the ground and he confirmed a marketing campaign is about to be launched to fill 16 empty shops in the town centre.

"Richmond has no problem attracting people but visitors need to be persuaded to spend more once they're here," said Mr Kirkhope. "The town is working hard to improve and its message to others has to be: 'Come and join us'."

Country Life magazine announced the results of a survey on Wednesday which classified Richmond as the eighth best place to live in Britain, based on house prices, crime rates, local amenities and schools.