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£10 million Darlington retail park given green light

A major new £10 million retail park in Albert Road, Darlington, has been given the go-ahead by Darlington Borough Council.

The four-acre Darlington North Retail Park, which is being developed by West Yorkshire-based Opus North, will create 150 jobs and be open by the spring of 2016.

Occupiers already signed up for Darlington North include retail giants Aldi and Iceland.

The park will be built on land on Albert Road, next to its junction with North Road and Whessoe Road.

The 42,000 sq ft park comprises eight units, featuring a new 16,480 sq ft Aldi supermarket; a KFC drive thru’ restaurant; an Iceland Foods store; a range of non-food retail units extending from 2,850 sq ft to 5,780 sq ft; and two 1,200 sq ft units ideal for café/ sandwich shops. The units offer modern retail warehouse accommodation and there will be 157 free car parking spaces.

The marketing agents for North Darlington Retail Park are the Leeds office of CBRE and Griffiths Procter of Newcastle.

Associate director of Opus North, Neil Creeney, said: “We are absolutely delighted that planners have given the go-ahead to Darlington North Retail Park.

“This is a very exciting development for the town of Darlington, creating jobs and boosting the economy.

“It will add to the retail strength of the northern part of the town.

“We have had excellent feedback from local residents and businesses and we were grateful to know they were positive about our proposals, as were the planners.

“The retail park will bring a range of retailers not currently located in this part of town, improving choice and convenience for local shoppers.

“The development site is prominently situated on the new junction on A167, which is the main arterial route north from Darlington Town Centre.

Adjacent retailers in this district centre location are Morrisons Foodstore, B&Q and B&M Bargains, alongside other established trade counter uses.

“The retail park is also superbly located. The A167 is just two miles from the A1(M) aswell as being very close to Darlington railway station, which is on the East Coast Main LineLondon-to-Edinburgh route.”

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