A COUNTY Durham town has "had its heart ripped out" according to shoppers and residents who visit - after an increase in the number of empty shopping units and 'big-hitters' who have departed the town in recent times.
With a whole host of high street retailers departing Bishop Auckland in recent months, The Northern Echo has engaged with people of the town to see what factors have caused this, what has changed in Bishop Auckland and how the town centre can be returned to its heyday.
After Boots Pharmacy became the latest name to announce that it will be closing its doors in Bishop Auckland in April 2022, taking with it a long line of shops that have come and gone before it, we visited the town’s Newgate Street to gauge reaction, from those that still travel to the “dilapidated” streets to those that remember Newgate Street as a “thriving epicentre”.
Many of those that we spoke to today (January 18) were saddened that the town has gone the way it has but have highlighted the loss of retailers like Poundland, TUI, W H Smith, Carphone Warehouse and, further back, Marks & Spencer.
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Anne and Ken Wilkinson, who consistently visit Bishop Auckland to shop, believe that the establishment of the town's Shopping Park is the biggest factor for the “crumbling” and “dirty looking” town centre, due to the new facility taking big name brands out of the heart of Bishop Auckland.
They told The Northern Echo: “A lot of the big brands that have moved to the Shopping Park should never have done – it’s ripped the very heart out of this town.
"It looks dirty, and half of the time when you visit, it’s deserted, and you’re lucky to see another person some mornings.
“With Boots closing now, we’ll be lucky to hang on to what we have left. There’s so many lovely independent retailers, cafes, and restaurants, but without the big names, I fear they won’t be able to survive and thrive here.
“It’s cheaper to build a new facility than it is to renovate these beautiful buildings here - it’s so sad how things have gone.”
Ken Billingham, who has lived in Bishop Auckland for 45 years, also believes that the Shopping Park has a lot to answer for but cites that online shopping and delivery services have “killed the spirit and soul of high streets up and down the country”.
Mr Billingham, who has MS, can’t operate a computer or the internet and instead relies on visiting his local high street several times each week.
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Without the shopping district, he says he’d be “lost” and “isolated”.
He said: “When I first moved here, Bishop Auckland was thriving and was an impressive place to live – you’d say it with pride, but that’s all changed.
“Even though a lot has closed in Bishop Auckland, I don’t think it’s unique to the area, it’s the same across the board when I visit other parts of the UK.
“The internet and the instant shopping world we now live in is killing the high street in every sense of the word. But for people like me who can’t or won’t transition to the online world, I fear I’ll be left behind and cast out to the side.”
While gauging opinion on the streets of Bishop Auckland, a lot of people expressed their sadness, but many were at a loss of how to get the high street and town centre back up and running.
Kate Bolton, who does some work with the restoration project in the town, believes that the answer lies with turning the upstairs of some shops on Newgate Street into “affordable and beautiful” apartments to draw people into living there.
She said: “We are blessed with so many lovely buildings and historic pieces of architecture, but it’s hidden by how derelict things are getting. If you made rents and prices and living costs cheaper, I’m sure people would flock to the high street and live there.
“You can see other parts of the UK that have done that, I don’t see why Bishop Auckland should be left to fall by the wayside?
“It’s not easy seeing the town in this way, but with so many people turning to online retailers, I’m hardly surprised.”
For councillors in the area, their focus is now on Boots and “securing” other retailers that might want to leave Bishop Auckland.
Durham County Councillor for Bishop Auckland Sam Zair, who also sits on Bishop Auckland Town Centre and runs a café in the town, believes that nothing exists to make residents and tourists return “time and time again”.
He said: “This is disappointing to hear that Boots are leaving our high street, but I’m not surprised.
“I only hope that Boots can relocate their staff without making redundancies. “Another empty shop and another brand name leaving our high street is not good news for the tourism sector also.
“There is a need to offer visitors a good shopping experience for them to return, and at this moment in time, we don’t have this.”
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