Old barracks are back in business

Jun 2 2009 by Sue Scott, Evening Gazette

A SECOND World War army barracks has had life breathed back into it by offering start up units for small businesses.

Stainton Grove Industrial Estate, on the eastern edge of Barnard Castle, has been redeveloped to provide six industrial units with an emphasis on energy efficiency.

An area of the old camp has been transformed into 10,000 sq ft of light industrial space by Darlington based Niven Architects and Dorin Construction of Newcastle.

The scheme, which took six months to build, was completed on time and to budget for Durham County Council.

The brick and metal clad buildings have been designed to be highly energy efficient and incorporate the latest air to water heat pump recovery systems.

Modern construction methods and the use of sustainable materials has ensured that the buildings are friendly to the environment.

They all feature rooflights to maximise the use of natural light and each unit has a recycling point for the collection. One of the first companies to move into the site has been Quality Water Specialists.

Niven Architects’ associate director, Adrian Williams, said: “It has been an interesting and rewarding project for all involved, transforming a site that was in a very poor state of repair into useful business units.

“Great emphasis has been put on energy efficiency to minimise the running costs for small start-up businesses. The new forms of technology really do pay for themselves very quickly now, whilst minimising the impact on the local community and the environment.”