FEARS for the future of Bishop Auckland as Wear Valley's main commercial centre will be put to council planners tomorrow night.

The town's Civic Society is being addressed on an updated strategic plan charting a framework for development in the district during the next ten years.

Regeneration officer Harry McLaughlin's talk follows the presentation of Bishop Auckland in Bloom prizes at 7.30pm in the town hall.

Civic Society chairman Bob McManners urged residents to attend. He said: "On preliminary reading the document contains some worrying strategic questions which are centred around the continuance of Bishop Auckland as the main developmental and commercial centre for the area.

"There are suggestions that Crook and Willington could be the focal centre for future development, which ignores the demographic distribution of the local population.

"The document is sketchy about the overall development of the housing and industrial needs of the locality and is obviously looking for informed opinion."