'Eyesore' former masonic hall stuck in limbo

A former masonic hall which was going to become an artist's workshop and apartments has deteriorated further due to a lack of funds.

The building in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, has trees growing through holes in the roof and plants growing out of smashed windows.

Developer Graham Thomas said the lack of progress was due to a lack of financial support - he believed Durham County Council (DCC) and Historic England would provide funds that had not materialised.

DCC's economic development manager, Graham Wood, said the risk of giving financial assistance "would be unacceptable" but the authority was engaging with the owner to progress work. Historic England has been approached for comment.

Thomas said Historic England had provided support with project costs and architects.

However, at the end of 2025, he said it had told him no further funding could be offered due to budget constraints.

Thomas said: "The project has stalled due to a lack of financial support, DCC has invested millions of pounds into developments such as STACK, yet I have been unable to secure grant funding to redevelop the hall.

"As a resident of the town I want to see our high street revitalised and thriving once again."

Thomas said a private investor is in place who remains committed to funding and completing all of his town centre projects.

He says the delays have been caused by "uncertainty" created by the grant funding process and the impact on project financing.

Photographer Nigel Allison said he thinks the state of the building is "shocking" and the holes in the roof mean there are "dangerous" slates at risk of falling.

He said: "It looks horrendous for the town and the high street is all boarded up.

"There is more vegetation growing out of that roof than there is in my garden."

Bishop Auckland MP Sam Rushworth said the project was "not easy to do commercially without increased public investment".

"It is clear we cannot regenerate the high street while our larger most iconic buildings like the Masonic Hall stand in ruin," he said.

"They blight the high street making it unattractive and economically unviable to regenerate the smaller buildings around them."

He called for public investment to be used to renovate the building and bring it back into use.

Wood said: "We have a responsibility to protect public funds and control our finances carefully.

"After careful consideration and assessment, it was determined that the risk level of providing financial assistance to the developer would be unacceptable, particularly given consideration of their previous use of funding.

"We have spent £1.8m on refurbishing vacant properties across Bishop Auckland and have a range of support available to those developers we do work with.

"We will continue to engage with the owner to explore options for progressing works at the Masonic Hall as soon as possible."

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