This £40-million-plus Bishop Auckland Retail & Leisure Park project in Country Durham already has attracted major operators, which include The Range, Home Bargains, Puregym, Popeyes, Greggs, Tui, Superbowl UK and REEL Cinemas.
The project has been selected by a panel of local industry professionals to be a winner of the CoStar Impact Awards Commercial Development of the Year for the North East.
Newcomers include The Range, which is unveiling a new 3,716-square-metre superstore, while Home Bargains, citing excellent trading in the city, has committed to a relocation to a space of the same size, a trebling of the size of its current store.
About the project:
In March 2024, work was completed on the 14,864-square-metre retail and leisure park, and its opening followed in the summer, even though that date had been pushed back two years by several delays and challenges.
What the judges said:
Jurgita Banyte, real estate and planning lecturer, Newcastle University, commented: “This project has boosted the local economy by attracting major brands.”
They made it happen:
Adam Mobley, partner, WSB Property Consultants; Chris Dacre, director, Prestige Car Direct Properties; John Flathers, partner, Freeths; Craig Kipling, building design and technology, Create Architecture; John Webb, director, Castle Constructions Consultants; Jason Howard, director, The Property Investors Partnership, and Rob York, local councillor, Durham County Council.