Work on a delayed Stack venue in Bishop Auckland will start within a month, bosses at the leisure firm have promised.

Plans for the site on Newgate Street in Bishop Auckland, County Durham were approved back in March, but work has yet to start at the site.

The current building, which housed a former butcher’s shop and WHSmith, is set to be flattened with a new permanent building put in its place, as opposed to shipping containers.

Read more: Plans for new STACK venue in Bishop Auckland approved

It was initially hoped the venue would be ready to open in early 2024.

Stack is known for its bustling leisure venues including at Seaburn and a now-closed site in Newcastle.

The Northern Echo: How it is hoped the new venue in Bishop Auckland will look.How it is hoped the new venue in Bishop Auckland will look. (Image: Durham County Council)

Stack bosses have admitted the new venue had been hit by delays, but said work is now “moving forward” and activity at the site will begin “in the next three to four weeks”.

Neill Winch, CEO of Stack said: “We are very excited about the scheme at Bishop Auckland, which despite some unforeseen delays, is now starting to proceed.

“The hold up with Bishop Auckland was due to a number of party wall agreements which needed to be in place before we could start demolition and there was also a problem with removing the existing electricity, which had to be done prior to demolition.

“There will be some pinning that will need to be carried out on the buildings on either side, but we are now moving forward and the site compound is ready to go in so there will be some activity starting in the next three to four weeks.”

The Northern Echo: The old building in Bishop Auckland which will be demolished. A site compound is set to move in within weeks, Stack said.The old building in Bishop Auckland which will be demolished. A site compound is set to move in within weeks, Stack said. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

Once complete the new venue will have a selection of bars and street food vendors based around a central ‘plaza’ area.

The first floor will house tables and benches surrounding an atrium which overlooks the stage and plaza below. On the second floor/roof level will be more tables and benches with another bar, all overlooking the town.

The company says it will host daily live entertainment and a platform for local businesses. It is said the venue will generate 75 new jobs while also increasing and encouraging tourism.

Last week the Echo reported how another proposed Stack venue in Durham had also been subject to unforeseen delays.

Read more: You'll never guess where Newcastle STACK is being stored (it's actually very obvious)

Bosses said work on the former M&S on Silver Street in the city will start within four to six weeks.

Stack first opened on Newcastle’s Pilgrim Street in 2018, and soon rocketed in popularity to be one of the city’s busiest venues. It was forced to close in May last year to make way for new government offices being developed on the former Odeon cinema site.

It expanded to Seaburn in September 2020 at the height of lockdown.

Following the success of the initial venues bosses rapidly announced plans for several sites across the region, although none yet opened.

The firm recently announced its shipping container venue in Middlesbrough will open in early 2024.

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The site in Durham was approved back in April.

Last month plans for a Stack fanzone outside St James Park in Newcastle, built in partnership with NUFC sponsors Sela, were given the green light. An opening date of Spring 2024 has been floated.

Plans are also in the works for a permanent site at Worswick Chambers on Pilgrim Street in the city, just a stone’s throw from Stack’s initial location. Last November bosses cancelled plans for a pop-up venue behind Central Station after opposition from locals and said they would focus on the permanent location.

Bosses are also working on sites in Carlisle, Northampton and Lincoln, with the former Hatch container village in Manchester also being transformed into a Stack.