A HIGH-profile campaign is about to be launched in a bid to save town centres from the threat of a giant shopping complex.

Accrington and Blackburn with Darwen are among a consortium of 27 North West towns uniting to promote town centre shopping and combat the threat of the Trafford Centre which is due to open in Manchester in September.

It is the first consortium of its kind to be drawn up in the country and has been formed following research carried out by The Association of Town Centre Management.

The consortium will launch a media campaign in the area in the coming weeks to highlight the benefits and attractions of town centre shopping.

While town centre managers are confident they can see off the threat of the one million sq ft Trafford Centre - the biggest shopping complex in the region - they are leaving nothing to chance.

Paul Isherwood, town centre manager for Blackburn with Darwen, said: "We cater for the needs of local people and that is something the Trafford Centre can never do. Of course, people are going to be interested in visiting the centre and while there may be an initial drop in people shopping in Blackburn and Darwen we are confident it will only be short term."

The centre has more than three kilometres of shop frontage and parking spaces for up to 10,000 vehicles but there are already fears that once it opens it could cause motorway mayhem with 30-mile tail-backs set to become a regular occurrence.

Mr Isherwood added: "The campaign is going to be educational rather than marketing and advertising-driven. It will tell people the benefits of shopping in a friendly environment on their own doorsteps rather than traipsing around a giant shopping centre."

Bill Huntly, Hyndburn's town centres' liaison officer and Accrington town centre manager, said that the consortium will make the most of what town centres have to offer.

He said: "This initiative will ensure that all of the region's towns harness and enhance their retail, leisure and tourism potential and we are proud to be a part of that.

"Town centres play a vital role for our communities and our job is to make them exciting retail and leisure destinations. High Streets remain the most popular locations and we intend to work hard to ensure they stay that way."

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