We Desperately need a NEW home immediately!

PLEASE HELP - our Books are LEAVING Bishop Auckland!

A year ago in September 2022, we were given our 28 days notice. That summer was like a perfect storm and we had to close with no notice. We brought the books back from Newton Aycliffe back to Bishop, we then got a nasty dose of Covid and to top it off we were then told a permanent tenant was found for 14.

Luckily through the kindness of our landlord and beneficial to us both, he stated that while he was arranging all the plans and surveys etc that we could stay just to store the books while we looked for a new home. But that time now is at it's end! We are very grateful for the time we had at 14 but we also know the building does need some work to get it ready for it's next chapter. We wish them all the best for the future.

Just before Christmas we were told that we were offered a new home by the council in the Newgate Centre. They did not follow through and we are left wondering what will happen next, its been almost a year!

"Local Authorities are always helpful, they value the resource we bring to their communities and we establish good working relationships with them. A good example is in Bishop Auckland.  We have had our current premises for 3 years now, but have been served notice and are only using the shop for storage until we find a replacement.  We previously occupied 3 other shops on the same street and our presence spans 7 years in this town.  We are currently looking for a new home and Durham Council are actively helping us with this, as they understand the importance of our presence in their town."  Global Educational Trust

We have now been given our 28 days notice a few days ago and planning permission is in for 14 and we have to move but nobody seems willing to help us, who could. They seemed to of wanted to help in the beginning but nobody really cares now and we feel like we are just brushed under the carpet. What is there in Bishop Auckland that could bring people back into the town! Its great with the redevelopments bring the town to life but what is there for the everyday person that they can afford to visit and also with Free Books we can help with Education, Literacy and there is nothing that feels quite as good as escaping from this world to another within a few pages of a Free Book and you don't need a charger cable, batteries or to travel abroad to escape from this reality into another! It turn Free Books effect Quality Of Life for so many.

We might get some of the wording a bit wrong, after all we are just volunteers but we are on the frontline of our bookshop. We saw how much we helped the people of Bishop Auckland and beyond. We helped supply reading books to classroom libraries all over the county and people travel to see us, they come to us after finding us on tourist trips, the Food Festival or visiting Kynren and they come back to see us again. We had some customers visit us a couple of times a year and others almost daily. We brought people into Bishop Auckland, if they visited us they visited other places like the cafes or shops instead of going out of town. We supplied Brenda the Vendor at Cockton Hill and we had such amazing support, if we were asked we also helped with books for nursing homes we sorted that out too. We help everyone we can, no matter age or your income, it does not matter, we just love you love books like we do! We had 5 Free Books to all, per customer, per day and we have had a huge turn over of books, thousands each month, quite often thousands a week.

The Free Bookshop has had a presence in Bishop Auckland for about 7 years and we are one of the shops that have had a constant presence in a single town since the charity started. We have become a favourite with the charity and one of the ones with the most compliments going to head office as well as becoming the central hub for the North East. We were asked for other Free Bookshops to be born from our own but down to Covid and the Cost of living Crisis everything was slowed down throughout the charity. We also lead the fight with proving that our shops are real shops with Sheffield Council that they thankfully dropped the court case, which we will always be grateful for. You the people of Bishop Auckland did that!!! We are so proud of you all as we could not of done that without your support.

What we really need now is to bring to the attention of the council and anybody else you think could help rehome us. Let them know in comments what you thought of our bookshops in Bishop Auckland over the years and how we have helped or just even if you want us to stay in Bishop Auckland, either in town or on the edges. Help us be heard!!! Let people know you want your Free Bookshop back!

The books will be starting to move in the next few days as it's going to be a long process with so many books and there is no way a HGV could fit down the back of Finkle Street, so we can not leave it until the last minute. It is also costing the charity a lot of money so we need a new home as soon as possible. There are still so many buildings still structurally sound within Bishop Auckland. There is the Newgate Centre, Poundland, Boots, Brighthouse, B&M bargains and so many more. We can help bring more business into Bishop Auckland and from one little corner of Bishop Auckland we could help bring more life to the town as other businesses see the potential of possibilities that Bishop Auckland can bring.

Please sign, share wherever you can and if you can please comment.

Help Bring Back YOUR Free Bookshop to Bishop Auckland!

Take care and Stay safe.

We miss you all!

Team 14

https://www.facebook.com/GETFreeBooksBishopAucklandAt14

GET Free Books Bishop Auckland At 14
Global Educational Trust
Registered Charity No. 1144969