SHOPPERS prefer town centre bargain-hunting.

Leigh Town Centre manager John Ayres says predictions about the death of high street shopping is premature.

And the town is playing a leading role in a £1m campaign to reinforce its retail and leisure attractions.

Leigh is one of 28 members of the North West Towns Consortium - the first of its kind in Britain.

The group was set-up after predictions that out-of-town shopping centres would mean Leigh could lose up to 12 per cent of its retail trade over the next three years.

Mr Ayres said: "Our high streets are still the most popular shopping destinations with the North West showing the highest regional loyalty to city and town centres.

"This loyalty is underlined by current independent retail property research which indicates nine of our region's towns are in the top 50 locations in the UK for major retailers' requirements for stores."

Paul Rice, Director of The Association of Town Centre Management added:"North West towns are actively working together harnessing new ideas, solving mutual problems, forging stronger relationships and consolidating the loyalty factor with our shoppers.

"Together we have £1.5m in our promotional budget from now up to Christmas which puts us on a par with major regional shopping centres such as The Trafford Centre."

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