WHEN the Middlesbrough Town Centre Company hired the man responsible for redeveloping New York's Central Park area to cast a critical eye over the Teesside town, they were surprised by the result.

Dan Biederman said there was nothing wrong with the fabric of the town.

What people in Middlesbrough needed to do, he said, was to make use of the treasures they already had.

Since hiring the regeneration guru, a £12m Government grant and council money has helped to transform the heart of the former industrial town.

Sixty-four per cent of the town's commercial space is now occupied, compared with only 20 per cent of newly-built office space and 50 per cent of old space which was occupied in 1999.

Since then, employment has risen in the town centre by more than 2,000, more than half of which is in the commercial sector.

Where buses once drove through the centre of the main shopping area, it has now been pedestrianised and shoppers can sit and eat their lunch in what was once a main road.

In a national industry survey, Middlesbrough has overtaken York in the UK Top 100 high streets and covered malls, rising to number 38 above Swansea, Coventry and Brent Cross, in London.

A million shoppers a week now pass through the town centre - rising to two million during the busy Christmas period.

A specialist shopping area has been created in the Linthorpe Road area of the town, targeting fashionable, young shoppers.

The popular Psyche store moved to larger premises on the street and, as well as clothes, offers cosmetic dentistry, hairdressing and beauty treatments.

Steve Cochrane, managing director of Psyche, said: "Middlesbrough has always been a strong retail centre, but Psyche's investment of £3m in the former Uptons department store has really been the catalyst to create a major secondary shopping location, containing a range of designer clothing stores.

"Our success in recent years shows that Middlesbrough is very much going in the right direction."

Les Southerton, Middlesbrough Town Centre Company's chief executive, said: "Better shops follow more people. When we started out, we set about establishing dialogues with the major retail chains, with the aim of ensuring that they understood just how many people already come to Middlesbrough to shop.

"Since then, M&S, Boots and Next have all expanded their town centre operations, and we have already been able to attract newcomers, like Foot Locker, Schuh, Accessorize and Envy."

The construction of a £20m Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, which is due to open next year, and a public square in the heart of town, are expected to attract even visitors.

"There is still much to do," said Mr Southerton. "But we are currently working on some exciting plans, which include the creation of financially-viable music and theatre spaces.

"We are all aware that we have farther still to travel, but the team at the town centre company is proud of its achievements so far.

"We look forward to playing a vital role in making Middlesbrough an even better place to visit and do business now and in the future."