EXCLUSIVE: The city has seen the largest improve in empty outlets in all the county.
Bishop Auckland has seen the biggest improve in emptiness charges amongst cities in County Durham (Picture: Andy Commins)
On the day the Categorical visited, the streets of Bishop Auckland, County Durham, felt surprisingly abandoned. Shuttered outlets, some tagged with graffiti, and a handful of derelict buildings stood in stark distinction to the excitement that after outlined this historic market city. Among the many few pedestrians, a pair visiting from close by referred to as the scene “horrible,” admitting they have been “very shocked” by the excessive road’s state. One resident summed it up bluntly: “Tradition? Have a look at it. No, I’m sorry.”
The city has just lately put a bid in to change into the UK’s first City of Tradition in 2028. This nationwide competitors is designed to present smaller cities the transformative enhance normally reserved for main cities, bringing Authorities funding and a year-long calendar of festivals to the winner. The city is house to the Spanish Gallery, the UK’s first gallery devoted solely to the artwork, historical past, and tradition of the Spanish Golden Age, housing masterpieces by El Greco and Murillo. Only a stone’s throw away lies Auckland Palace (previously Auckland Fortress), the restored thousand-year-old residence of the Prince Bishops of Durham, which serves because the city’s historic anchor.
Nonetheless, Bishop Auckland has additionally seen the sharpest rise in empty outlets within the county over the previous yr, with vacancies climbing 3.25%. In response, Durham County Council is about to make use of new Authorities powers to lease vacant properties in each Bishop Auckland and close by Stanley for as much as 5 years below the Excessive Avenue Rental Auctions (HSRA) scheme. The council will be capable of step in when landlords fail to have interaction, aiming to breathe new life into these city centres.
Bishop Auckland’s city centre emptiness price rose by 3.25% over the past yr (Picture: Andy Commins)
Santander will quickly be closing its Bishop Auckland department (Picture: Andy Commins)
It was introduced final month that the cities have been chosen as a result of they’ve seen the biggest will increase in store emptiness charges in County Durham—3.2% in Stanley and three.25% in Bishop Auckland. As soon as accepted, the council will survey empty properties to evaluate suitability, potential makes use of, and any required upkeep and the primary models could possibly be prepared for occupation by autumn 2026.
When requested about what she thinks concerning the city’s bid to change into the UK’s subsequent City of Tradition, resident Elizabeth Campbell glanced round on the shuttered storefronts, gesturing towards them with a grimace and mentioned: “You solely have to go searching and it tells you.”
Having returned to the North East after residing in the US, she remembers a Bishop Auckland that was “busy and beautiful.” Again then, family-run companies have been at its coronary heart, together with Doggarts, a North East division retailer chain that had each its head workplace and flagship retailer within the city.
Ms Campbell mentioned the city has seen many banks go away. NatWest closed in 2025, and HSBC shut its doorways in 2022. The Santander department can also be set to shut on Could 5. That can go away the city with simply two main excessive road banks remaining: Barclays and Halifax.
She added: “There is not even a greengrocers. All these cookery programmes are on about contemporary meals, however the place do you purchase it?”
Ms Campbell mentioned that public transport has additionally change into inconvenient. “They do not cater for folks that do not have automobiles anymore.” She defined that to get to Sainsbury’s which is lower than three miles away, she has to get on two completely different buses.
She additionally expressed concern that in her opinion an excessive amount of funding could also be going towards the city’s cultural points of interest relatively than supporting the excessive road.
“All of the council thinks about is the museum. Properly, I’m sorry, however you may’t dwell in a museum.”
The Auckland Challenge was based by Jonathan Ruffer, a multimillionaire philanthropist who has spent over £200 million reviving the city. The charity has been shopping for and repurposing some key websites and buildings as a part of a deliberate regeneration technique, working alongside native authorities. For instance, No. 43 Market Place, previously a Dwelling Bargains retailer, is now full and holds a Group Artist Hub and library.
Elizabeth Campbell mentioned the city centre was once “pretty” (Picture: Andy Commins)
The Auckland Challenge additionally runs the enduring cultural points of interest within the coronary heart of the city. The Religion Museum traces hundreds of years of non secular historical past, whereas the Spanish Gallery, the UK’s first gallery devoted to Spanish Golden Age artwork, showcases masterpieces from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The Mining Artwork Gallery celebrates the area’s mining heritage, and Auckland Tower supplies a panoramic view of the Market Place. The charity has redeveloped Auckland Gardens and Deer Park and funded the relaunch of the Weardale Railway, a heritage line connecting Bishop Auckland to the Durham Dales.
One other main cultural attraction is Kynren, a spectacular dwell historical past present staged outside, telling the story of two,000 years of British historical past by means of efficiency, fireworks, and pyrotechnics. The occasion attracts hundreds of holiday makers and is ran by over 1,000 volunteers every summer season. It’s organised by 11Arches, a charity additionally based by Jonathan Ruffer as a part of the broader programme of cultural regeneration geared toward establishing Bishop Auckland as a world customer vacation spot. The charity is at present in search of planning permission to carry new exhibits on the website and lift customer numbers.
The charity additionally operates Park Head Lodge in town’s outskirts and its flagship Twelve by Jacob Restaurant. Within the Market Place there’s El Castillo, a tapas restaurant and the Bishop’s Kitchen housed within the palace’s medieval Tudor kitchens. The undertaking’s most bold transfer stays the continuing improvement of a brand new 59-bed resort in Bishop Auckland Market Place.
Sam Zair, Bishop Auckland City Mayor, mentioned Bishop Auckland used to have a bustling market twice per week with about 100 stalls and a vigorous city centre, which made the city a vibrant place to develop up. He additionally talked about the significance of the excessive road and its enchancment for each native residents and for attracting guests to the city.
He famous that the city has been “actually lucky” to see important funding, together with assist from the Auckland Challenge and £33.2 million secured by means of the Stronger Cities Fund to drive main infrastructure and job development alongside an extra £20 million from the Excessive Avenue Fund devoted to revitalising the city centre.
He mentioned: “The outlook for Bishop Auckland may be very constructive, particularly with the city of tradition bid, I feel we’ve got a giant shout of profitable it.”
Mr Zair added: “We’re a sleeping large, and now that big is waking up.”
The Spanish Gallery in Bishop Auckland (Picture: Andy Commins)
Kynren is a history-themed outside attraction (Picture: Getty)
The mayor added: “We all know our tradition going again generations—the railways, the mines, the soccer.
“It must be joined up with the tradition of the long run. We mustn’t ever ever overlook the roots of a city.”
Probably the most seen issues is the empty shopfronts owned by traders who’ve hardly set foot in County Durham, with some being based mostly in London or Dubai. Shaun Hope, Principal of Bishop Auckland Faculty and Chair of the Stronger Cities Board, spoke of the problem of getting these buildings again into use.
He mentioned: “A part of the problem is that the landlords aren’t at all times based mostly from round right here who do not see the deprivation of their property.”
To struggle this situation, the board is utilizing a £1.2 million Property Reuse Fund alongside the specter of the brand new County Council Excessive Avenue Rental Public sale scheme. The “nudge” seems to be working although. Hope revealed that the mere information of the public sale scheme has already compelled cussed landlords to lastly ask how they will get their buildings again up to the mark.
As soon as a beloved family-run shoe store on Newgate Avenue, the Grade II-listed McIntyre constructing is being remodeled right into a coaching hub together with an already opened café-restaurant house operated by Bishop Auckland Faculty, Mr Hope defined. It should function the bottom for the Catering Academy, the place native college students practice in professional-grade kitchens, serving to to organize the subsequent era of cooks and hospitality workers for the city’s rising hospitality sector. The broader redevelopment can even embrace exhibition and retail house, an open-access digital suite, a job-matching service, and workspaces for rising SMEs.
Shaun Hope in entrance of the McIntyre Centre (Picture: Andy Commins)
Auckland Tower’s 15-metre excessive viewing platform affords 360 views (Picture: Andy Commins)
Sarah Harris, the city clerk, mentioned that after some delays, building has now resumed on a significant social hub referred to as STACKS. Set to open this yr, STACKS will remodel a “hole” within the excessive road right into a vibrant bar and eatery, designed to convey life again to the night economic system.
She highlighted the city’s motto, Mood and Parendum, Latin for “shifting with the occasions” or “rising to the occasions.” “We at all times assume that Bishop Auckland and its individuals are what make us particular.
“It’s about rising to the problem and adapting to vary. We’re not letting all the issues on the excessive road put us off. We’re going to maintain going, and we’re going to reinvent ourselves.”
Jane Ruffer, CEO and co-founder of The Auckland Challenge, understands that for a lot of, the city’s best asset was at all times a “personal home” hidden behind closed doorways. She is now centered on making certain the Fortress turns into a “civic asset.”
“Now we have folks within the city who I see come as much as the edge. And regardless of the very fact the gates are open, they can not make themselves go in,” she admitted. “That’s altering in a era, as a result of now we’ve got an training programme that brings all youngsters onto the positioning.”
The shift is going on by means of the youth and teaching programs that convey youngsters onto the positioning repeatedly. “They know this place inside out,” she mentioned.
Sam Zair, Bishop Auckland City Mayor and Sarah Harris, City Clerk (Picture: Andy Commins)
Jane Ruffer, CEO and co-founder of the Auckland Challenge (Picture: Andy Commins)
Auckland Fortress gateway (Picture: Andy Commins)
Graham Wooden, Durham County Council’s financial improvement supervisor, advised the Categorical: “Whereas we admire the considerations round Bishop Auckland excessive road, the numerous cultural choices within the city are vital for enhancing footfall. We’re working onerous to ensure that Bishop Auckland attracts guests, whereas making certain that there’s a thriving economic system for the advantage of everybody and that encourages folks to remain.
“To do that, we’re offering focused assist, coaching and grants for retail and hospitality companies by means of our Cities and Villages Programme. The Property Reuse Fund can also be serving to people and enterprise house owners convey vacant models and unused areas again into use, with 22 properties within the city given a brand new lease of life by means of the scheme.
“We’ll proceed to work with landlords as a lot as doable, but when these makes an attempt to have interaction or work proactively with them fail, new enforcement measures from the Excessive Avenue Rental Public sale scheme imply we will public sale a privately owned property. This enables us to supply a lease of as much as 5 years, bringing long-term empty models again into use. This has already resulted in constructive engagement from landlords.
“Now we have additionally been working with native residents on the place they want to see regeneration, as a part of our ongoing efforts to create a Strategic Place Plan (SPP) for Bishop Auckland. The SPP is in its last levels, and we’re at present making ready a report on a imaginative and prescient for the city centre.
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“Bishop Auckland is simply half approach by means of its regeneration journey, and we’re working onerous to make sure it receives the funding it wants.”
Bishop Auckland has seen the largest rise in empty outlets in County Durham, leaving its once-bustling excessive road struggling and residents questioning its future. However with a £200m regeneration effort and new council powers starting to take form, there are hopes the city could possibly be on the trail to revival.
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