Hope major Bishop Auckland plans can revive town centre

That is the view of investors and politicians involved with major plans to revitalise the area by building new public spaces and converting derelict shops into leisure attractions and housing.

Construction work is underway at the Kingsway Square, which is set to create an attractive gateway into the high street. It is hoped the new layout will attract more visitors to Newgate Street, the town’s main shopping street. 

Demolition work has been completed at the site and civil works are now underway.

Becci Nye, owner of Fifteas Vintage Tearoom, is Bishop Auckland born and bred and has witnessed the town’s decline over the past few decades. But now that redevelopment work is underway she hopes it is the start of a second coming for the area. 

She said: “We had so many promises years ago about what was going to happen, but now we can start to see things changing. This was a wasteland when I was a child and I remember thinking ‘this is awful’. We are going to get so much more footfall into the town, and this is a place you want to be a part of. "

Becci Nye, of Fifteas Vintage Tearoom, at the Kingsway Square site in Bishop Auckland (Image: Stuart Boulton)

An abandoned shoe shop and pub on Newgate Street have recently been converted into the Jord restaurant, which will be run by Masterchef contestant Mike Bartley. The former Burtons store, at the intersection of Newgate Street and Victoria Avenue, has also been converted into a bar and will be run by local brewery Caps Off.  

Elsewhere in the town, a new STACK development is being built and improvement works are underway at Fore Bondgate. The Masonic Hall on Victoria Avenue is undergoing conversion to become 10 apartments with an art space and office on the ground floor and is due to open in 2025. 

The scheme is part of a £12 million joint initiative between regeneration charity, The Auckland Project; Durham County Council and private sector developers. Funding has been provided by the government’s Future High Streets Fund and Stronger Towns Fund, as part of the levelling up agenda. 

For councillor Richard Bell, deputy leader of Durham County Council, the redevelopment is a levelling up in action. The government-led scheme has faced criticism locally for a lack of progress and favouring areas with a Conservative MP, but Cllr Bell said big projects such as the transformation of Bishop Auckland take time.

He said: “People have criticised levelling up but it takes time to bring a lot of these projects forward. It’s worth remembering that there’s a total of £104 million coming into Bishop Auckland through various funds and investments.”

How the new Kingsway Square development could look (Image: Handout)

Graham Thomas, a private investor involved with the redevelopment, said the town has huge potential and was inspired to get involved and make a difference to people’s lives. 

“I live in Bishop Auckland and during Covid I saw there was an opportunity to invest. I’ve got two young children and I thought ‘what do I want their futures to be?’. I’ve lived here for 10 years and it seemed to be going downhill before Covid. I wanted to make a difference for the town and the futures of residents.”

The town centre has continually suffered over the years, as prices rises and pressures have impacted local businesses more shops have become empty. The withdrawal of major national retailers has also worsened town centre trade. So it’s no surprise that Bishop Auckland’s once thriving shopping areas are now looking tired and in need of new life. 

Local independent businesses will be prioritised from now on and are invited to open up in the new-look town centre. “We won’t allow high street brands because we want local people involved,” said Mr Thomas. “It’s about local residents and not about big brands making more money. If you look at Barnard Castle, it’s a good example of local independents thriving.”

Empty shops on Newgate Street, Bishop Auckland (Image: Sarah Caldecott)

Cllr Bell added: “Use your high street. We want people to stay here and for it to be a key destination town. Think about it as a place not just for shopping but for leisure activities and meeting people. We can breathe new life into Newgate Street and we want to make the high street the focus of the town.”

The host of new attractions in the town centre shows that Bishop Auckland has become a “foodie hotspot”, according to Edward Perry, chief executive officer at the Auckland Project. 

“Bishop Auckland is attracting foodies,” he said. “There’s the food festival this weekend and a whole host of restaurants. We’re getting a reputation for our hospitality. We want to bring people to the town, whether that is for events or the venues we have.”

Those involved with the redevelopment hope the model implemented in Bishop Auckland will create a template to revitalise other County Durham towns. 

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Mr Perry added: “Rather than bemoaning out-of-town retail or that the high street is dying, this is the chance to repurpose the high street and bring more independent retailers in. 

“We can be the exemplar town centre and we need to shout loud about the successes here, so others can take inspiration. But it’s not going to be easy, it will take a lot of time and hard work - but I think we can be optimistic and proud of what we’re doing.”

As the owner of a local cafe, Ms Nye says the future of the town centre is a hot topic among customers and agrees that it needs an injection of imagination - but hopes it can celebrate its Bish Vegas tagline once more.  She added: “I hope the town is revived. As a kid it was a thriving town. Town centres need to be reinvented and hopefully this is the start of positive change.”