Bishop Auckland Food Festival

Case Study

The Bishop Auckland Food Festival is a significant regional annual event aimed at showcasing local businesses and their range of products. Local traders from Weardale, Teesdale and Tynedale have participated in the event previously and these were among 96 individual businesses that participated at the event in 2009. Around 30,000 visitors attended the event last year resulting in sales of around £80,000 which equates to around £833 of sales per participating business, which in some cases represents one week’s turnover.

Although Bishop Auckland is not located in the North Pennine Dales LEADER area, it is only a few miles outside and LEADER investment is justified in this case as it benefits participating local businesses, together with local communities and it raises awareness of the Durham area generally. Due to a decrease in funding from the local and county councils, a significant gap in project funding was threatening the event.

Bishop Auckland Food Festival Website