Path clear for Ingenium Parc disposal

Darlington Council’s cabinet has signed off on the sale of a development plot where an occupier is lined up for a 638,000 sq ft distribution centre.

The decision was made at Darlington’s cabinet meeting on 13 June, and follows the termination of an exclusivity period with another developer, agreed last October.

Under the terms of the deal now proposed, an eight-acre site will be taken on by the incoming, as yet unnamed, party on a long leasehold basis, with the firm committing to delivery of a 638,000 sq ft distribution facility.

According to the report put before cabinet, this developer has an identified end user, and on completion of the building, the leasehold interest will be sold to the occupier, described as “a company that will initially support up to 215 jobs with scope for increases in future and has sustainability as a key priority”.

The report said that the developer has a proven track record of delivering the same product elsewhere for the same occupier, having just completed one elsewhere in the North this year.

The developer will also build an access road to adoptable standard on council-owned land, with the project as a whole aiming for a completion date of Q1 2025 – although the planning process must still be negotiated.

Ingenium Parc as a whole comprises more than 98 acres of council-owned industrial development land at Salter’s Lane South, situated to the rear of the listed former Cummins engine factory. The intention has been for phase one to include up to 27 acres

Ingenium Parc is described as a key employment site for Darlington’s future plans. Infrastructure works to enable the site’s development, including the extension of Salter’s Lane South, associated utilities works and sustainable drainage work are almost complete, although additional infrastructure will be required within the site to enable each development plot to be fully serviced as they come forward.