BUSINESSES in Bishop Auckland town centre have set the level of spending for shoppers to qualify for a parking fee refund at £10.

The town's recently reformed traders' association met on Monday night to finalise the details of a car parking charges agreement with Wear Valley District Council.

After years of debate over parking charges, the council and local businesses reached a compromise last month when many retailers offered to give customers a 50p refund for spending in their outlets.

Bob Hope, director of regeneration for the council, said parking vouchers would probably be left blank, so traders can use their discretion if they are prepared to reimburse customers spending less than £10.

The group, which has been renamed Bishop Auckland Business and Traders' Association to represent all organisations in the town, agreed that participating outlets should display logos informing customers where the refund is available.

Jeremy Edkins, of Top Sounds music store, in Newgate Street, said: "£10 sounds reasonable but each trader can be flexible, it may be that if a regular customer spends less than £10 one day, they get the 50p because next time they may spend more."

The car parking charges, expected to be in force by the end of June, will be £1.50 for three hours, £2 as a daily charge and £7 for a weekly ticket.