Planning permission is being sought to revitalise the 1,000-year-old Auckland Castle gardens and make them more accessible for centuries to come.
Regeneration charity, The Auckland Project, has submitted a planning application to Durham County Council to transform a series of outside spaces surrounding the castle.
If granted, it will kick-start a three-year development programme, covering around 12 acres of land within the castle walls, collectively known as the Castle Curtilage.
This includes the restoration of several historic features, including the Bowling Green and Bishop’s Steps providing access to the Walled Garden, as well as the creation of a number of new gardens and areas not previously open to the public, to enhance the visitor experience.
The scheme, designed in partnership by The Auckland Project and landscape architect, Pip Morrison, aims to re-instate some of the vistas that have been lost over the centuries, and establish a series of accessible gardens, each with their own character and routes that are easily navigable for all visitors.
This will sit in harmony with the work already announced to re-imagine the Castle’s 17th century Walled Garden, as both a functioning kitchen garden and a place of beauty within The Auckland Project visitor destination.
Andy Nesbitt, Curator of Parks and Gardens at The Auckland Project, said: “The gardens and outside spaces surrounding Auckland Castle are a vital part, not only of its history, but its future too.
“Our aim is to conserve, reimagine and enhance these areas to provide further opportunities for visitor engagement and ensure they are befitting of the Prince Bishops who once called the castle home.”
The proposed transformation of the Castle Curtilage follows the re-opening of Auckland Castle in November 2019, after a three-year conservation programme.
Both the Castle and its Curtilage form part of The Auckland Project’s plans to create a visitor destination in Bishop Auckland, combining art, faith, heritage and nature.
This includes the 150-acre Deer Park surrounding Auckland Castle, as well as the Mining Art Gallery and Auckland Tower welcome centre, which opened in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
A Faith Museum and Spanish Gallery are also in development and planting at the Walled Garden is well underway.
If planning permission is granted, work on the Castle Curtilage project is expected to begin in the summer, with further details announced in due course.
Please note the visitor destination, excluding the Deer Park, is closed, temporarily, due to COVID-19.
Bishop Auckland's local community newspaper.
