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Millionaire’s plans for £100 million Bishop Auckland historic leisure park

Millionaire financier Jonathan Ruffer has revealed stunning plans to create a £100 million historical leisure park in Bishop Auckland that aims to drive thousands of jobs to the area.

The philanthropist plans to develop a historical leisure park on a 115 acre site in the shadow of Auckland Castle, which will host a “Night Show” dramatising 2,000 years of North East history in a format not dissimilar to the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony.

Mr Ruffer has already invested £2 million in the project which aims to draw 6,000 visitors a night, across 30 shows during the year.

The shows promise to be action-packed historical re-enactments such as a Viking invasion, jousting knights or Roman gladiators.

Inspiration has been sought from the internationally renowned night show at Puy du Fou, south east of Nantes in the Vendée region of France.

Launched in 1978 the shows now attract over 1.7 million visitors a year and has been extremely successful in energising the area.

It is just the first part of a £100 million regeneration of the former Bishop Auckland golf course site and Mr Ruffer’s tourism plans for the Castle, and the wider region.

Under the banner of Eleven Arches - so called because the commanding Newton Cap railway viaduct which crosses the site has 11 arches - the scheme hopes to spur tourism growth that will benefit the region via jobs and spending.

Mr Ruffer, who was born near Middlesbrough, told Bdaily: “My view is that there are two sorts of regeneration. One is helping class acts who haven’t got their act together and there’s helping people who need that hand, but don’t get it. I’m most interested in the latter.

“You can’t simply throw money at this type of problem. I wanted to see how we can bring Bishop Auckland back to prosperity, and consequently bring knock-on effects to the whole of the North East.

“This is a tremendously exciting project that will not only feature on the national stage, but on the international stage too. I’d say to the region’s businesses: come and join us.”

Jonathan Ruffer, the man behind the Eleven Arches plan

The Night Show - which will operate as a not-for-profit venture - will feature a cast of 600 volunteers, beginning in spring 2016 before the historical leisure park is opened in 2020.

It is estimated the show will create 10 full time jobs initially, and up to 300 full time roles by 2024.

Plans also include the creation of the Eleven Arches Academy, which will annually train 300 young volunteers between the ages of eight and 25 in the key skills needed to put on the Night Show and ensure its sustainability.

These will include everything from sword fighting to horsemanship, falconry, sound, lighting, pyrotechnics, set construction, landscaping, animal care and first aid.

Plans are yet to be submitted to Durham County Council, although the idea has won the backing of Dr Robert McManners, chairman of Bishop Auckland Civic Society. A period of consultation will now take place for the local community to voice their opinions.

In addition to the £25 million contributed towards the Auckland Castle project, Mr Ruffer has donated a further £2m towards the £20 million cost of the initial stage of the Eleven Arches project. The remainder will be raised through grants, including EU funding.

Anne-Isabelle Daulon, chief executive of Eleven Arches, will be working with the Puy du Fou team to establish how the idea will work in Bishop Auckland.

She told Bdaily: “We’ve had a massive due diligence operation has already taken place. Now we will develop the plans alongside the community. Without the community we would just have a show, and this project is about much more.

“Our goal is not to organise the town, but allow local business to get creative and look at how they will benefit from these visitor numbers.

“There is no doubt that in its current state the town is not ready to support all these visitors. They places to eat, places to stay, transport and other things to see. We need all of these things.”

Mr Ruffer, who in 2012 bought Auckland Castle, the former home of the Bishops of Durham for 900 years, handed it over to the Auckland Castle Trust to transform into a world class tourist and heritage destination as part of a £50 million project.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .