£75m business park can bring new jobs
A NEW £75m business park near Durham Tees Valley Airport could be set to create up to 1,250 jobs.
If planning permission is granted, the scheme will consist of 11 two-storey commercial units comprising 14,560sq m in total on brownfield land to the North-east of the airport.
The agent for the development is Darlington-based Blackett Hart and Pratt (BHP), which is acting on behalf of the applicant and current owner of the site, development firm Sven Investments.
Steve Barker, head of planning at BHP, said the scheme would offer a different product to other local developments.
He said: “It should be seen as complimentary to traditional offices, not a threat.
“One of the central benefits about this proposal is its inherent flexibility.”
Under the proposals, each unit could be sub-divided to produce individual office suites ranging in size from 50 to 2,000sq m and arranged around a central atrium.
It is thought the offices would be ideally suited to small businesses and start-up companies linked to the airport.
Mr Barker said it was “too early” to say who the tenants would be but expected them “to be related to the airport”.
“This is not a scheme to attract businesses who would otherwise be located in the centres of Darlington or Stockton,” he added.
Darlington Council confirmed it had received the application and during the next 13 weeks will consult with organisations such as the Highways Agency and Government Office for the North East.
A spokesperson for the council said: “The scheme is designed to provide offices for airport-related use.”
Hugh Lang, managing director of Durham Tees Valley, said he was aware of the proposals but needed to review the details before he could comment further.
Earlier this year Durham Tees Valley Airport secured planning permission to create a separate business park consisting of offices and a hotel on a 200,000sq ft site to the North of the airport.
The airport’s major expansion plans also include new aircraft stands, apron area and taxiway, together with improvements to the terminal.
A new £1.8m access road has already opened.
The Tees Valley has been boosted recently by a number of key regeneration projects led by Tees Valley Regeneration in Middlesbrough, Stockton, Darlington and Hartlepool.
In addition, TVR is developing plans to create a new business park at Durham Tees Valley Airport and is hoping to attract significant inward investment to the area.
TVR confirmed it was not involved in the Sven Investments-led scheme and would reveal details of its airport project in the next few months.
The urban regeneration company is working closely with English Partnerships, regional development agency One NorthEast and major shareholder Peel Airports on proposals for up to 28,000sq m of office development.
The emphasis will be on travel, airport and logistics-related activity and an additional 6,000 car parking spaces.
