A man has given £200million to rejuvenate a small run-down town in the UK. Jonathan Ruffer, a billionaire city investor and art collector, has given his wealth to the Auckland Project, an ambitious charity aimed at regenerating Bishop Auckland in County Durham.

The project, which is centred around art, culture and history, is hoped to boost tourism in the town and resurrect the mile-long high street that’s lined with abandoned shops. Some shops and cafes have started to open in buildings that have been empty for years. One of Mr Ruffer’s main projects so far has been the rejuvenation of the Bishop’s Palace. He bought it for £11m 13 years ago and opened it to the public seven years later. By buying the palace, he saved a collection of Zurbarán paintings. He feared the works, which were bought by the Bishop of Durham in 1756, would end up being sent overseas.

The palace looks out onto a walled garden where Mr Ruffers has spent nearly a third of a million on topsoil alone. The total spend on the gardens has reached £10 million.

The Paradise Garden features an original heated wall where melons would have grown, while the furnaces that once heated the brickwork have recently been excavated. There is also a new water feature, designed by Pip Morrison, in the shape of a cross.

Meanwhile, the Grade II-listed McIntyre, which was once famed for bespoke leather goods, reopened last December as a café and gift shop selling local arts and crafts. There is also a new community hub for skills training, job opportunities, and educational resources.

As reported by the Telegraph, Fiona MacAlpine, hospitality coordinator, said the difference the Auckland Project has made is “fab”.  She explained: “Bishop [Auckland] was dying. Things had to change,” before adding that £6 artisan chocolate “are flying out the door.”

McIntyre provides work experience for catering students from Bishop Auckland College. It is working with the Auckland Project to train up a workforce to cater for a planned one million visitors a year.

Further down Newgate Street is Inspired Cycles. Gary Ewing, the co-owner of the business, said he decided to buy his site on the high street because of the regeneration project.

He said: “We could have rented a unit at the out-of-town shopping centre, with more footfall and easy parking, but we chose to buy in the high street. My wife and I both volunteer in the Kynren show and she could see the improvements that all this regeneration would bring, so we opted to establish ourselves in the town centre. It’s been tough, but we’ve no regrets.”

Visitors can look over the town from the Auckland Tower in the market square. The 15-metre-high viewing platform was opened in 2018 but has been described by critics of Mr Ruffer’s intervention in the town as a “sore thumb.”

The market is also home to other ventures of the Auckland Project. It features two art galleries, one devoted to the Spanish golden age and one to local mining art, a new community centre, and some carefully restored holiday cottages.

Meanwhile, a new 60-room hotel is set to open by 2027. The Northside Hotel will be full of personality featuring stylish interiors, local art and fun social spaces.