The North East could become home to a trailblazing ‘Innovation District’ after an ambitious regeneration plan moved a step closer this week.
Durham County Council has agreed a provisional partnership with an unnamed development partner to create a ‘strategic employment site’.
The project would involve the demolition of County Hall, at Aykley Heads, and open up the opportunity to construct a dynamic Innovation District with a legacy of almost 4,000 new jobs.
The council’s vision for the site — and the wider area — is to develop a ‘home for research, green jobs, electronics, digital and creative, fintech, life sciences and satellite applications sectors’.
Plans to develop the site were first discussed more than seven years ago and for all the positivity surrounding the project there are frustrations that an exciting opportunity for regional construction firms is still some way off.
Durham’s Labour leader Carl Marshall said: “They [the council] should be well on with the scheme but they are still moving bits of paper around in secret meetings.
“This site should be the jewel in the crown for local investment. There’s an opportunity to create something really unique here and there are so many things this site should be promoted on.”
Callum Thompson, CEO of Business Energy Claims, is excited to see the new Innovation District taking shape and admits it represents a golden opportunity to construct something as iconic as it is important.
“The construction sector is renowned for its agility, invention and ability to deliver the most challenging of projects,” he said. “This represents a fantastic chance for the new development partner to showcase its skills and create a legacy development for the North East.”