Work begins on football ground (From The Northern Echo)

Works started on Bishop Auckland FC’s new out-of-town ground

8:27am Friday 20th November 2009 in Regional By Bessie Robinson, Chief Reporter (South West Durham)

FOOTBALL supporters who have waited nearly eight years for a new stadium will be back on home turf next season.

Contractors started work on Bishop Auckland FC’s new out-of-town ground yesterday, signalling the end of troubled times for the famous old club.

For chairman Terry Jackson and secretary Tony Duffy, a turf cutting ceremony on site at Tindale Crescent was a historic moment for the ten times FA Amateur Cup winners, who have shared grounds with neighbours Shildon, Spennymoor and West Auckland since their former home, Kingsway, was sold to developers in 2002.

Contractor Terrace Hill hopes to have the team installed in a year’s time, with a Sainsbury’s supermarket opening soon afterwards next door.

Mr Duffy said the new ground would give the club a springboard for success.

He said: “We can’t wait to have our own ground again after eight years of sharing with other clubs. Normally a club could not have survived what we have been through, but we have stuck with it.

“This is a fantastic moment.

It is good for the club and good for the area.”

Mr Jackson said: “This is the beginning of good times for Bishop Auckland FC and for the whole area. It is a privilege to be part of the regeneration of this area and wonderful to be back where we belong in our own stadium.”

Terrace Hill announced last month that Aviva Pensions will fund the £27.67m first phase of development on the former Warner Electric site where there will eventually be a six-screen cinema, bowling alley and restaurants.

Because of the economic downturn, a cinema operator has yet to commit, but Terrace Hill’s retail director Duncan McEwan is confident the whole £45m scheme will go ahead.

He said: “There will be a delay, but it will happen and it will bring hundreds of jobs to the area.”

Former Warner Electric worker Alan Makison, who chairs the Tindale Crescent residents group, will be happy to see the land occupied again.

He said: “Everybody around here has been looking forward to this day.

“The factory closed in 2003 and it is time something happened here.

“People were sick of bikers using the land and wanted it tidying up.”