Planning application submitted for Durham business park creating 4,000 jobs

Plans have been submitted for a new business park generating an initial 4,000 jobs, worth up to £400million.

Durham County Council has unveiled the latest stage in its masterplan for the Aykley Heads site – including the demolition of the existing County Hall, with the council moving to a new base on the riverside in the city centre.

It is estimated a further 1,800 jobs would be supported in the construction of the park.

The council’s cabinet voted in January 2018 to create a new headquarters to pave the way for the County Hall site and neighbouring land to be redeveloped.

Council leader Coun Simon Henig said: "This is a huge opportunity for County Durham and the North East. It has huge potential as a development site to bring these new jobs.

"It involves moving County Hall and removing the car parks that are taking up a lot of space and putting in a high-end business park to attract thousands of new jobs into County Durham.

"In the current challenging circumstances, we have to do all we can to increase the number of jobs in the local economy.”

Aykley Heads, north of the city centre, is already home to Atom Bank, Waterstons, the North East England Chamber of Commerce, Salvus House and many other businesses and is one of five Strategic Employment Sites designated across the county.

Waterstons moved to the site two years ago and Chief Executive Susan Bell is excited at the extension plans.

"We wanted to move from our previous premises at Belmont Business Park,” she said.

"We wanted to stay in the city centre if at all possible but there was very little business accommodation that met our needs,” she said.

"Then we heard about the Aykley Heads masterplan. For us, it is about attracting and retaining high quality jobs for the area, which is going to be for the benefit of us and for everybody in the business community.”

If planning permission is granted, work on Plot C would begin over the next year.

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