Durham County Council's plan to transform the Aykley Heads site, currently home to County Hall, into a business and employment hub could create up to 3,700 jobs and support a wider innovation district, according to Cllr Joe Quinn, Portfolio Holder for Planning, Investments and Assets. The project has outline consent for over 400,000 sq ft of office development.
The council is vacating County Hall, its home since the 1960s, and moving to The Rivergreen Centre, where work is underway to extend the building and create a council chamber. This move frees up the Aykley Heads site for a development that aims to accommodate global names alongside startups and SMEs that underpin the regional economy.
Phase One: The First Commercial Innovation Building
Phase One of the development, before County Hall is demolished for Phases Two and Three, will feature the first commercial innovation building on land previously occupied by temporary accommodation for St Leonard's School. This 50,000 sq ft high-quality space is designed to integrate with the Aykley Heads woodland, offering breakout spaces, links to Aykley Heads and Framwellgate Peth, and a terrace area to the south with views over the meadow and playing fields.
The building will lay the foundations for a 'mixed innovation economy', providing supported space for start-ups and a 'grow on' facility for larger companies. The innovation district that will grow from this first phase will offer businesses access to talent, research, networks, and resources within a compact 62-hectare setting, including new cultural venue The Light, the multi-purpose Milburngate development, Durham University Business School, and Durham Railway Station, along with businesses such as Waterstons and Swinburne Maddison.
Vision for a Thriving Community
Cllr Quinn emphasized that the innovation district is about creating a community, not just workspaces. "It's going to create an environment where you can come to work, but you can also come to play as well," he said. "You can walk from the train station, you can go for a meal, visit The Light – all within one compact area." He drew parallels to NETPark, noting, "If Apple can start in a garage, then why can't something equally successful start at Aykley Heads?"
The county is already proving investment-ready, with Integra 61 as a prime example of private sector investment. Citrus, working closely with the council, is pumping millions into the site. Cllr Quinn noted that County Durham accounts for 25 per cent of the population of the North East, bringing with it a big responsibility. He highlighted the county's attractions: "You can drive 20 minutes from here and be in blissful countryside, another 30 or 40 minutes and be at the seaside, then 30 or 40 minutes the other way and you're at the Pennines."
Partnerships and Funding for the Future
The council is harnessing the expertise of joint venture delivery partner Muse and Durham University, backed by funding from the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority, which has agreed to establish a Durham Mayoral Development Zone around Aykley Heads, bringing a further £27m of investment. "With an ambitious project of this size, collaboration with good solid partners like Muse and Durham University is invaluable," said Cllr Quinn.
Key sites across County Durham are also being driven by the council. Integra 61 represents the largest logistics and manufacturing opportunity in the North East in a generation, including Connect, a new five-unit industrial/warehouse opportunity with units from 43,000 to 297,500 square feet, totalling 639,460 square feet. Forrest Park in Newton Aycliffe is a new 48-hectare site providing 1.7 million square feet of prime B1, B2 and B8 industrial floorspace. Jade Business Park in Seaham has completed phase one, fully let with seven new industrial units totalling 155,000 square feet. NETPark at Sedgefield offers start-up, incubator, laboratory, and office space, from 250 sq ft to 32,000 sq ft+, and is the only UK Science Park with three National Catapult Centres.
Cllr Quinn concluded: "I feel like we're in a time where there's just so much positivity going on – the stars are almost aligning. There is excitement and ambition and that is a powerful combination." The project aims to provide jobs for all residents, changing the narrative that people must move away for work, and keeping home-grown skills and ambition in County Durham.
