A NATIONAL conference on urban regeneration takes place in Durham today.

The pioneering work of the Dragonville Partnership will form the basis for the conference, which will see more than 200 delegates from the public and private sector in England, Ireland, Scotland, Poland and the Czech Republic in the region for the conference, at Durham's New College.

The conference, Skill for Real Futures, will discuss ways in which large employers can help in urban regeneration of deprived communities around brown field sites.

The one-day event focuses on the work of the Dragonville Partnership, which has helped to regenerate an area of Durham that has suffered significant social and economic problems in recent years.

The partnership was founded by supermarket chain Tesco, which has opened a 68,000sq ft store on the site of the former Hugh Mackay carpet factory, at Dragonville.

It also includes the Employment Service and shop workers' union Usdaw among its members, and has tackled social issues including the lack of transport and childcare in areas of urban decay, and most influentially the lack of basic skills among the unemployed residents of the city.

Speakers at the conference will include chairman of Tesco John Gardiner, Andy Westwood of the Industrial Society and Claire Dodgson of the Employment Service.

Tesco UK regeneration manager Martin Venning said: "This will be a great opportunity to share some of the things we have learnt from Dragonville.

"We have found the area to be a great place to do business and we want to encourage other employers to come and see what it, and other areas like it, have to offer, giving local people the chance to improve themselves in the process."