A FINAL meeting for the liquidation of a defunct co-operative association will be held next month.

The Durham Co-operative Development Association went into voluntary liquidation last August and will be officially closed on September 20. The association had received a £500,000 boost in February last year, to help establish new businesses in deprived areas of the county, but the grant was not enough to offset mounting debts.

The organisation helped form more than 50 co-operatives and other businesses, creating more than 400 jobs.

It included Northern Dales Meat Initiative in Crook and Skerne Park Community Enterprise Association in Darlington.