The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman the Lord Mountevans, has been seeing first-hand how investment in people and places is helping to reshape North East England.
On the invitation of Lady Sarah Nicholson, a trustee of the Auckland Castle Trust and County Durham Community Foundation (CDCF), the Lord Mayor spent the day meeting with beneficiaries from both charities and touring key sites around the region, including Durham Cathedral.
Those in attendance at his first port of call, Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland, included representatives from Community Interest Company and samba group, Jack Drum Arts; Monkfish Productions CIC, which makes life-sized, anatomically correct cloth people as a learning resource; Café JJ, Darlington, which is run by volunteers with learning disabilities and personal safety campaign, One Punch North East.
They, along with Learning Working Earning Apprentice, Daniel Wolstencroft, are among more than 12,000 community groups and individuals to have benefited from CDCF grants over the past 21 years, which now total more than £30m.
While in Bishop Auckland The Lord Mayor, who supports and promotes the UK’s financial and professional services, was taken on a tour of the historic Auckland Castle by city financier and Chair of the Auckland Castle Trust, Jonathan Ruffer.
Jonathan Ruffer, founder of investment firm Ruffer LLP, is aiming to transform the town into a faith, art and heritage destination of international significance by investing around £100m in the Castle and its sister site Eleven Arches, home to live action show Kynren, which the Lord Mayor also took the time to visit.
From Bishop Auckland the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress were taken north for a tour of the historic Durham Cathedral and its new £10.9m Open Treasures exhibition, which gives visitors access to previously hidden spaces within the Cathedral’s magnificent Claustral buildings.
Before their departure the civic party were also able to meet with members of the Sea Cadets on the River Wear.
For more information about County Durham Community Foundation visit www.cdcf.org.uk and for Auckland Castle Trust log on to www.aucklandcastle.org.
Further details about Kynren by Eleven Arches is available at www.elevenarches.org and for Durham Cathedral www.durhamcathedral.co.uk