Darlington grasps the nettle with Northgate development
The local authority has submitted outline proposals for a residential-led project off Gladstone Street on the northern edge of the town centre.
Darlington Council sees the Northgate Gateway area as a key part of the town centre’s regeneration, backing up the incoming 104,000 sq ft Darlington Economic Campus civil service hub expansion with further development.
As set out by Darlington’s advisor ELG Planning, it is envisaged that the scheme would be residential-led, with a mix of townhouses and apartments, both open-market and affordable, sitting alongside assisted care or other specialist living accommodation.
In all, the site could see up to 125 homes delivered on an allocated site.
Given the nature of the proposals and scale of the site, it may incorporate other suitable uses.
In essence, the local authority will look to establish outline permissions for development across three zones, two of which mostly comprises surface parking, with one a thornier issue, likely requiring demolition works if the project is to be realised in full.
Northgate is described as a key link between the town centre and the north of Darlington by ELG. The site, to the north of Darlington town centre, is bordered by the A167 to the immediate east, with the A68 to the south.
There are several vacant buildings on-site, most notably the Northgate House office building, where proposed residential conversions have proven difficult to stack up financially; two surface level public car parks in the form of Kendrew Street East and Kendrew Street West; takeaways and restaurants on Gladstone Street; and a number of small units on Kendrew Street – including a former restaurant, and health and fitness studio.
Development Zone A (Kendrew Street car park west)
Comprises two landholdings, the council-owned car park and the Conservative Club.
Development Zone B (Kendrew Street car park east)
A single ownership, this site consists purely of surface parking and is thought suitable for residential-led development of up to three storeys, although a residential institution could be considered subject to demand. The site could take up to 35 dwellings.
Development Zone C (Northgate east)
Potentially the trickiest area to deliver, this plot contains a number of land holdings and numerous existing buildings. As ELG outlines, “it is envisaged that for a development of this area to succeed, it will be reliant on the demolition of Northgate House which is in a poor state of repair, has a detrimental impact on the surrounding buildings and is currently a hub for anti-social behaviour”.
The thinking is that a suitable development could go up to four or five storeys, with up to 65 homes potentially delivered. Some buildings could be retained.
The expected timeline would be for zones A and B to be advanced first, with Zone C taking longer – thus, an extension of the usual three-year limit to 10 years will be requested.
At present, the council is still looking to acquire Northgate House, which it first announced its intention to buy in 2021. A prior application for conversion of the nine-storey block, made by Brighton and RH Properties, was refused in September of that year.
Plans for the Northgate Gateway scheme can be viewed in full at 24/00977/OUT on Darlington’s planning portal.
Darlington is also looking to bring a railway heritage centre to a building on Northgate currently occupied at ground floor level by takeaways and a barber shop.
