TRADERS in Bishop Auckland are hoping to give a new lease of life to a once-bustling strip of shops in the town.

Shop owners in the cobbled alley of Fore Bondgate have held a meeting to discuss ways of improving the appearance of the street.

They also came up with ideas on how to better promote the area, which is tucked away between the Newgate Centre and Bishop Auckland Market Place.

Fore Bondgate boasts a number of designer boutiques, quirky stores and trendy bars, but the retailers believe not enough people know about them.

A meeting was set up by Anthony Toward, who owns the street's Chic-argo clothes shop, with a number of other traders and business leaders present. They are now hoping for more signs and banners to attract shoppers there, and decorations such as hanging baskets to improve the overall appearance.

Mr Toward said: "There's a lot of quality in and around Bishop Auckland and the surrounding towns, and there are some unique shops here.

"With the shops we have and the setting, Fore Bondgate could be like the Shambles in York. It just needs the right promotion.

"We also need to cheer the street up. I believe in pushing things, and we wanted to try to push things forward. We can only survive if we do that, and the meeting was very encouraging."

About half of the traders on the street have pledged to join the Bishop Auckland Business and Traders Association, to give themselves more of a voice.

The ideas have been backed by town centre manager Derek Toon, who attended the meeting.

He said: "I am very much behind any efforts to improve the street, as long as they are done under the banner of the Business and Traders Association."

Last week, Fore Bondgate received another boost when a building that had stood empty and derelict for many years was bought by Noremac Property Services.

Brian and Angela Wilkinson plan to renovate the large white building at the top end of the street and turn it into a cafe bar.