TWO previously-empty properties in the commercial heart of Bedale have been taken up by new businesses, as the town continues its efforts to win a share of Government money for regeneration.

A ground-floor property which housed a fruit and vegetable shop until almost a year ago has become a funeral parlour. It did not need permission for change of use because the development was classed as retail.

Directly opposite, a solicitor's office, which closed last December, has undergone another complete change of role with its conversion into a shop selling specialist chocolate.

The developments have been welcomed as a step in the right direction as a local steering group works on plans to apply for important funding from the single regeneration budget, under which £7.1m has been made available to rural areas of North Yorkshire, through a community investment prospectus.

Councillor John Noone, deputy mayor, who chaired the latest meeting of the steering group, said: "I hope with the reopening of these two properties that we might at last be turning the corner.

"It has to be seen as a very positive move, and if one or two more empty properties came back into use it would make a big difference."