As Prime Minister David Cameron hires retail guru Mary Portas to save the nation's high streets, Joe Willis reports on a town already on the up.

UNTIL recently, every shop in Pickering town centre was occupied.

Now only a vacated sandwich shop spoils the clean sweep, although community leaders say the site will not remain empty for long.

While the beleaguered state of the British high street yesterday prompted David Cameron to appoint TV’s “Queen of Shops” Mary Portas to lead a rescue mission, the North Yorkshire town appears to be thriving.

The town calls itself the gateway to the North York Moors, and has attractions such as a steam railway, castle and the nearby forests of Dalby and Cropton.

However, bed and breakfast owner Will Oxley, a local councillor, believes the secret of the town’s success goes beyond these natural advantages.

He said: “It is not an accident. There are lots of organisations in this town working together to make the town sustainable and as vibrant as possible.

“We are making it as pleasant as possible to spend time in Pickering, because if people come and spend more time, they will spend more money.”

He said Pickering was extremely good at “throwing a party” whenever events were happening in and around the town.

Examples include live music and street racing planned during the World Mountain Bike Championships, in Dalby Forest, this month.

The hugely popular War Weekend in October brings about 20,000 people to the town.

There is also a Sixties weekend, traction engine rally, jazz festival, walking festival and, in October, the first annual Pickering Pumpkin Pageant.

John Paddison, owner of Paddison’s jewellers, counts himself lucky that business has remained good and that the town has fared better than most in the economic downturn.

However, he is not taking the success for granted.

He said: “I cannot help compare us to Leyburn, because I visit the town a lot.

“They have three empty shops in the middle of the town, which spoils things. I think if we had the same problem, it would affect us too.”

Coun Oxley said: “It is almost a virtuous circle – people see shops being taken up, so they think it must be worth a go.”

The town’s retailers have recently come together in the Exclusively Pickering initiative, co-ordinated by the town council, to market themselves on the web.

A new chamber of commerce is also planned.

Mr Oxley said: “At the end of the day, it is a snapshot, but it is a snapshot that we have to shout about. It is our version of the Big Society – people getting on with it to mutual benefit.”