Permission granted for Durham mixed-use scheme

Durham County Council has given the go-ahead to the £160M mixed-use the development of Milburngate on the county’s town’s riverside.

Milburngate will provide more than 1,000 full-time jobs and 650 construction jobs. The redevelopment of the site will commence in spring 2017 following on from the demolition of the existing building, which is currently in its first stages.

Featuring an Everyman Cinema as the cornerstone of its leisure offering, the riverside development will also host a range of premium restaurants and bars. Milburngate will also include high-specification apartments and high-quality, energy-efficient office space.

The developers Arlington Real Estate, Carillion and Richardson Capital LLP, are also in the process of concluding lease agreements with a number of leisure operators with formal announcements expected shortly.

The consortium has already successfully delivered the regeneration of Freemans Reach on the opposite bank of the River Wear, which created new, sustainable offices for HM Passport Office and NS&I helping to retain more than 1,000 jobs in the city.

Development Director at Carillion Christopher Ives said: “Milburngate will breathe new life into the site and continue the positive transformation of the riverside; it will also aid the social, economic and physical regeneration of Durham City.

“The support we have received from the local community and stakeholders has been very welcome and we look forward to delivering a scheme that will add value to Durham and the North East.”

Arlington Real Estate Managing Director Neil McMillan said: “We are very proud to have the opportunity to regenerate this prominent location at the heart of Durham City. Milburngate will enhance the vitality and viability of the city, providing those who live, work and visit with more choice.

“The calibre of the operators we are attracting, including Everyman, will add an experience and quality of offer not available in Durham and, indeed, in some instances not available in other parts of the North East. We believe this will increase the number of visitors to the City as consumers increasingly look for something different and unique.”