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County Durham regeneration plans halted

Two North East town centre regeneration projects have been cancelled after the Government announced budget cuts.

England’s Regional Development Agencies, responsible for strategic job creation projects, have been told they have to save £300m as a result of the financial crisis. The cuts have put redevelopment projects across the country in jeopardy.

In the North East, the Bishop Auckland Town Centre Renaissance Scheme and Auckland Castle Park projects have effectively been axed after One North East’s budget was reduced by £47m.

With each development agency pound spent expected to generate another £4.50 locally, it means the region will miss out on more than £250m.

David Cramond, One North East director of capital development, said: “OneNorth East has been through a rigorous budget-setting exercise this year to decide regeneration priorities. Significant reductions in our funding mean that our capital budget will reduce by £47m over the next two years.

“We have also re-prioritised £46m spending to provide immediate and direct support to businesses during the recession. Unfortunately, this means the schemes at Market Place and Auckland Park cannot be supported in the short-term.”

Bishop Auckland councillor and cafe owner, Sam Zair, said the news was devastating for the town which is now effectively half finished. He said: “The knock-on effect in terms of tourism and business is worth hundreds of thousands of pounds to the town, if not more.

“What we need to do now is make sure that we keep whatever money has been pledged to the town ringfenced so we can try and move forward. These are tough times we are facing and tough decisions have to be made and we have to make the best of it.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .