Improvements are under way in Bishop Auckland, especially at Auckland Castle

If you have been to Bishop Auckland recently then you will have seen a lot of disruption. The Market Place has seen a lot of work and quite frankly, that is nothing compared to the plans that they have for the area. Bishop Auckland is changing face. and it might be a good time for investors to take a look. But to see where this fits in the present day, it is worth a look at the history behind the city. Don't worry, I'll keep it brief.

With it's strategic position near to the River Wear and River Gaunless, Bishop Auckland has long been a market town. Standing for centuries, it gained greater significance with the building of Auckland Castle. This was thought to have been first built in 1183 and was the seat of the Bishops of Durham until recently.

The area is undergoing somewhat of a renaissance. Auckland Castle is no longer the home of the Bishop of Durham (he has moved closer to home) and as such is becoming a tourist destination. This is obviously good for the North East. With the work going on at Durham Cathedral, this makes the area a more attractive place to visit. Having recently visited both Lincoln and Chester and seen the tourist draw from their cathedrals, I think that Durham City and the surrounding area has been missing a trick for some time now.

Bishop Auckland was a place I visited to browse a few shops when I was in the North East in my younger days. It was always an 'OK' place to visit but never any better than that. The last few years in particular have seen it go downhill rapidly. The out of town shopping area at St. Helen Auckland has drawn away most of the bigger chains from the High Street and it is now  place you go to if you want to count empty shops. I'm not saying that it fares any worse than any other town but it does look dreadful.

With the renovation taking place now, the future for Bishop Auckland can only look brighter. Auckland Castle in at the centre of all this renovation and improvement. It will be much more vibrant and I for one hope that it brings some big retailers and restaurants chains back to the town centre to do business. You can take a look at the different plans that are happening now here -

A walled garden and restaurant

A welcome building

A new art gallery

For the investor this looks like it might provide a great opportunity. With the top end of Newgate Street and the Market Place being filled with more visitors, the demand for units will almost certainly increase as will the demand for accommodation. The savvy investor might want to look at Bishop Auckland as the place to invest their money. Prices could rise, rents could be easy to come by.

Whatever the future holds for Bishop Auckland, I hope it is better than the present. There are few reasons to visit the main street and then little to keep you there if you do decide to take a trip. With some outstanding development on the way I hope that the money spent returns the town to its more vibrant past.