LESS than a decade ago, the region saw the wholesale shutdown of its coal mining industry.

Communities across County Durham were devastated as thousands of men were thrown out of work, and the resulting economic collapse crippled once-thriving towns and villages.

In a bid to breathe new life into the hard hit areas, regeneration packages were hastily put together.

Support has come in a variety of measures and today, the success or otherwise of the helping hand assistance will be judged at a top level conference.

Ordered by John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, the meeting will assess the impact in the region of the Coalfields Task Force and its proposals.

The conference, organised by One NorthEast and the Coalfield Communities Campaign, will be held in Peterlee Leisure Centre.

The keynote address will be given by the Minister for Local Government and the Regions, Hilary Armstrong.

Opening the conference will be John Bridge, the chairman of One NorthEast, and Alan Napier, the regional chairman of the Coalfields Communities campaign.

Throughout the day, there will be an emphasis on the sharing of information at a local level as well as planning for the future.

The event will be one of six conferences being held throughout England this autumn. The results of all the meetings will be reported back to the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.