'We need magicians': Bishop Auckland's town centre plea to government

The decline of the high street has contributed to residents’ resigned attitudes towards politics. 

National polling ahead of the election has consistently predicted Labour will regain the constituency on July 4. However, many voters say they are undecided and aren’t hopeful much will change. 

On a visit to the County Durham town, the Local Democracy Reporting Service spoke to residents and local business owners about their wishes before the July vote.

Cafe owner Sam Zair says he “bleeds Bishop Auckland” and is often found inside the business on Fore Bondgate, popular with locals “offloading their problems” to staff and customers. 

Over coffee and bacon sandwiches, politics is also regularly on the menu. “What’s on people’s minds is that the last five years have been sorely disappointing for politics in general,” he said. “That’s not just because the Conservatives have been in power for 14 years, it’s all the parties. 

“People are disillusioned with politics full stop.”

Sam Zair with his wife, Lesley, at the cafe on Fore Bondgate (Image: Sarah Caldecott)

Former Tory MP Dehenna Davison was elected during the landmark 2019 election when several North East seats voted Conservative for the first time. She was appointed levelling up minister in 2022 but could not fulfill every campaign pledge. A bid to reopen A&E services at Bishop Auckland Hospital was unsuccessful. 

Mr Zair added: “People here think the MPs that have been elected have not come up to speed and haven’t followed through with their promises from the start.”

Critics of the government include Patricia Gregory, 87, who isn’t fully convinced by any of the main parties. “I’ve been Conservative all my life, and I don’t want to vote for Labour, but I’m not sure,” she said. “I can’t make up my mind whether to vote or abstain.”

“I think the government have let us down. They haven’t had it easy but they haven’t delivered on their word. It’s not just us here, I have friends elsewhere in the North East and it’s just as bad.”

The North East needs and deserves more attention and investment, said Clive Topping. He said: “Politicians seem to forget about us. Bishop has been trying, it’s better than other places, but we have to be given more money to improve. They all promise they will put the North East on the map but it doesn’t happen.

“We need magicians, not politicians.” 

The 66-year-old former car salesman spoke of a North-South divide and said he’s willing to back anybody who can support Bishop Auckland and other areas in the region. 

“We don’t get noticed enough by the Government in the North East,” he added. “I think Bishop is alright but it could do with more interest from London. It’s the best part of the country.”

Bishop Auckland remains the only area in County Durham to have benefited from any of the government’s three rounds of levelling up funding despite multiple bids being submitted for the five other constituencies.

Town centre investment 

Although the constituency also includes Shildon and Barnard Castle,  Bishop Auckland town centre has received the majority of investment from other funding streams. A significant redevelopment programme is underway to upgrade key services - a new bus station is under construction - while apartments, arts, and leisure facilities are moving into derelict high street buildings. 

The redevelopment of Fore Bondgate is ongoing (Image: The Northern Echo) Mr Zair, also town mayor and a county councillor, hailed the nearly £70 million invested in Bishop Auckland but warned it’s not felt in people’s pockets. 

He said: “People on the street forget about that because of the cost-of-living crisis and their energy bills going up. All this money to regenerate the town is good but more important to them is their household bills and how much it's affecting them.”

The demise of the high street and preference towards online shopping and retail shopping has hit Bishop Auckland hard, Patricia Gregory warned. National retailers Wilko and Boots have left the sites they once held for decades. 

She said: “Once the retail park opened it was the coffin for the town centre. I don’t think there’s much hope for Bishop. “Every time I walk through the Newgate Shopping Centre, it depresses me. There’s nothing there. I just can’t see it changing.”

A significant redevelopment programme is underway (Image: The Northern Echo)

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Future prospects

Despite the concerns, Mr Zair pointed to the diggers and construction workers now on site around the town to create the new developments and is positive about the future. 

Mr Zair added: “Would this investment have come in under a Labour Government? Nobody knows that but we are where we are. 

“People now are starting to see things moving in the right direction but it's far from the answer they want. It’s tough but there is light at the end of the tunnel.”