Famed for its place in history as the cradle of the railways, Darlington now has its eyes set firmly on the future. With an impending 1000-plus-job Government campus complementing £100 million railway station redevelopment plans, a business park expansion and numerous cultural sector investments, the town is moving forward at pace. Steven Hugill speaks to new Darlington Borough Council chief executive Ian Williams to find out more.

As he unfurls his blueprint for a prosperous Darlington, the rising sun hangs over Ian Williams’ left shoulder.

Illuminating the spire of the town’s St Cuthbert’s Church, the scene is, however, not a live picture but a pre-captured shot on a video call.

Its effect, though, is no less symbolic, for Darlington is very much basking in the warmth of a new dawn.

The imminent arrival of at least 1350 Government jobs, an impending £100 million railway station transformation and further development of its Central Park business hub means the town’s commercial landscape has a fresh glow to it.

Factor in cultural sector investment, which has combined the refurbishment of Darlington’s Edwardian Hippodrome theatre with the creation of the DL1 leisure complex on a former bus garage site and the ongoing multi-million-pound renovation of its Victorian Covered Market, and there is little wonder Ian has such a sunny outlook.

“Our strategy is coming along quite nicely,” he says.

“We all know about the challenges facing town centres, but as a council we are creating the conditions to deliver success.

“When people talk about Darlington, they know it is well located and has many of the attributes you would expect, but the key thing is how we work as an authority alongside business and stakeholders to achieve more.”

Such collaboration was at the heart of the town’s recent Government triumphs.

Across three headline-grabbing announcements, Whitehall earlier this year confirmed at least 1350 posts will switch from London to Darlington in a new civil service campus as ministers seek to make good on their ‘levelling-up’ promises.

Primed to include Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy teams alongside Treasury and international trade counterparts, the base – for which site details are being thrashed out – is expected to be at full capacity by 2025.

For Ian, who took over as council chief executive at the beginning of June, the jobs represent an endorsement of the authority’s economic strategy that seeks to position Darlington as a well-connected and trusted commercial location.

And he reveals yet more posts could be headed for the town.

“These jobs represent superb employment opportunities; yes, there will be a number of people relocating from London, but it is a chance for us to grow our own by linking with colleges and universities,” he says.

“Certain departments are operating at different timelines, and we are hearing snippets of information that others are interested too.

“We will work with, and respond to, anyone who wants to come here.”

That Darlington has been so successful is, continues Ian, down in no small part to its long-standing association with Whitehall’s myriad operations, with both the Student Loans Company and Disclosure and Barring Service calling the town home.

Furthermore, a deal struck by the council in 2013 to retain 400 Department for Education (DfE) posts in a new space affixed to the town hall not only kept jobs in Darlington, but reveals Ian, has since helped add nearly 300 extra roles.

In addition, he says the authority’s proactive decision to part-fund the building of Feethams House – a speculative £8.5 million, five-storey Grade A office block also backed financially by the Tees Valley Combined Authority and European Union Regional Development Fund (ERDF) – provided an extra lure.

He says: “We have a bit of a track record with civil service jobs, and I’m certain the DfE told their colleagues about how smooth the process was back in 2013.

“When the DfE announced plans to leave its offices in the town’s Mowden Hall, as a council we made it easy for the Government to continue doing business here, rather than look elsewhere.

“And when it came to the new campus, we had Feethams House to show officials, and I think its readiness really helped secure the jobs,” says Ian, who praises the work of Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen and the combined authority in bringing the roles to Darlington.

The initiative to which Ian alludes around Feethams House is also driving further commercial change elsewhere.

A short walk away, where railway sidings once thrummed with activity, Central Park stands as a growing commercial, educational and residential hub. Led by Business Central, the council-owned SME hothouse managed by North East BIC, the site also marries hundreds of homes with Darlington College’s campus, a CPI base focused on healthcare improvements and the £22 million Teesside University National Horizons Centre that majors on bioscience innovation.

Its presence, though, is about to extend further, with contractors ready to start work on a development Ian calls “Business Central Two”.

He says: “We are delighted with the progress at Central Park; Business Central has been a real success – there are around 50 companies in there at present.

“Business Central Two will be a hybrid scheme, offering ground floor laboratory workspace and upper floor office suites, and will play into Central Park’s innovative theme.

“We were able to draw on Government funding alongside contributions from the council and ERDF to make it happen, and we’re very excited about.”

And Ian reveals construction could be complemented by another blue-ribbon project on the town’s eastern periphery, where Amazon operates a 1000-plus-job delivery centre on land known as Symmetry Park.

In early May, development company Tritax Symmetry marketed the remaining section of the site as a potential 3500-job industrial estate, and Ian says discussions have taken place with interested parties.

“We delivered the North East’s first Amazon fulfilment centre and worked really hard with the developer to do that,” says Ian, who was previously the authority’s director of economic growth and neighbourhood services.

“They saw we had the ability to deliver what Amazon wanted and needed, and it has brought a fantastic employment boost, with something like 55 per cent of the jobs held by people with a Darlington postcode.

“It has also now enabled the developer to start thinking ‘what next?’ and we’re pretty hopeful of winning another scheme in the next 12 months.”

However, for Darlington to achieve its future aims, Ian says it must play on the strengths of its past, particularly 1825 and the steam powered pioneers of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

And to help it do so, a major transformation of the town’s Bank Top station – earmarked for completion by December 2024 – is ready to be rolled out.

Promising a transport interchange and three new platforms, Ian says the overhaul will bolster national connectivity and strengthen local commuter links, making Darlington an even more attractive commercial location.

He says: “We’ve known for a long time that the station needs to take longer trains and their projected increased frequency.

“With that in mind, we lobbied hard and worked with Network Rail, LNER and Tees Valley Combined Authority to put a compelling case to Whitehall.

“The upgrade is very important because Darlington is the gateway to the Tees Valley,” adds Ian of the redevelopment, whose completion is planned to coincide with 200th anniversary celebrations of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

However, it isn’t just business passengers Ian has in mind when it comes to the station’s renovation; Darlington’s cultural offer means people – COVID-19 permitting – will soon be relying on train services again for many social occasions.

And following significant investment that reinvigorated the Hippodrome theatre, and a partnership with developer Urban & Civic that created the £30 million DL1 cinema and restaurant complex, Ian says further projects are underway to maintain the momentum.

They include a multi-million-pound facelift of Darlington’s Victorian Covered Market and its historic shopping yards, as well as plans to add town centre residential space.

“We have brought the modern and old together at the Hippodrome and its looks fantastic,” says Ian.

“And we’re now building on that with Towns Fund support from the Government to enhance our culture and heritage activity.

“That includes the market, which is going to be a real feature in the evening economy thanks to new outside dining experiences and music venues.

“We have refreshed the yards using Towns Fund money too, which has already attracted new independent operators, and opened a ten-pin bowling alley that is proving really popular.

“And, subject to planning, we’re aiming to convert a building that once housed Argos and Cash Converters into small retail kiosks at the front and a town courtyard with houses at the back.”

He continues: “We are on a journey.

“This council has never been afraid to invest, but growth is not achieved by pulling one lever alone, which is why our partnerships with property owners, businesses and other stakeholders are – and will remain – so important.

“We’ve done a hell of a lot over the last six or seven years, and the impetus we have is only going to keep accelerating.”