Graham Wood

“There’s a great opportunity for the BID moving forward to keep the pace of change going within the city centre itself,” says board member Graham Wood.

Graham, who is Economic Development Manager for Durham County Council, says that the pace needs to match the other developments on the edge of city centre such as Aykley Heads development and Millburngate development.

“There’s new infrastructure, large building projects that will generate new workers, new people living around the city, and we need to make sure the city’s offer is repositioned to suit those people and in doing so, create employment opportunities for local people.”

Graham says that the city has a strong offering of smaller independent retailers but that large scale retail has changed.
“We have to be realistic. The space isn’t there in the city for that, it’s a different offer: it’s niche, it’s experiential, it’s appealing to the community and it needs to be high quality.

“There’s a focus on food and beverage, that social side of the city, and taking that forward and managing that effectively is going to be a huge task – but also a huge opportunity for the BID to get involved in and help shape that.”

Graham, who is also Durham County Council’s lead for the towns and villages programme – which helps diversify uses in town centres and drive footfall – is also passionate about creating employment opportunities.

“The physical development and investment in shops and the public realm has to go hand in hand with working with and supporting people and providing them with an opportunity to access the jobs and new skills.”