HERITAGE is priceless and every community should be proud of the traditions which combine to make it what it is.

Many towns have markets which date back many hundreds of years but remarkably Bedale's market charter dates back much further. This year the 750th anniversary of the granting of that charter will be celebrated in the town.

The Darlington & Stockton Times is proud to be associated with those celebrations. Starting in May and lasting through the summer they will be a fitting way to mark the anniversary of an institution which helped to define the nature of the place.

It is is to be hoped that the people of the town will join those celebrations wholeheartedly and help shout about what a grand place it is. Bedale may not have the prosperous bustle of Northallerton or the dramatic setting of Richmond but it does have that indefinable charm derived from its history as the market and meeting place for its satellite villages for hundreds of years.

The celebrations also offer the town the chance to attract visitors to the town, from near and far. It represents a big economic opportunity for the town's business community.

It is also an example of what market towns can do to keep their customers. While anniversaries like the one Bedale is about to mark do not come round very often, most market towns do have heritage which is worth celebrating. They should seize any opportunity to do so and create the sort of annual festivals which many towns have used to generate the spirit and business on which market towns depend.