BQ2 Yorkshire Special Report by We Are UMi

2 Yorkshire: December 2015

SPECIAL REPORT

DARLINGTON: BUILDING AN INGENIOUS FUTURE

Ingenious idea Big brand for a big town

National focus Why CPI chose Darlington

BUSINESS UPDATE bqlive.co.uk

EDITOR’S VIEW DARLINGTON: BUILDING AN INGENIOUS FUTURE

CONTENTS 03

INGENIOUS DARLINGTON

PA R T N E R S H I P S AND PRIDE

A big brand for a big town

Council Chief executive Ada Burns talks about Darlington

MEETING THE CHALLENGE

FORGING AHEAD

Subsea sector faces the future with confidence

Darlington’s own university campus adds weight

The Northern Powerhouse is not a new idea – Darlington has been at the centre of the wider region’s economic success for more than 150 years. The town has always been a magnet for innovation and investment and around every corner there is a passion and a drive from people to create, build, thrive and develop. The reputation and heritage of this prized neighbour, friend and partner of so many Yorkshire firms and local authorities is written in every history book, but now there are new stories of groundbreaking industries that came here or were born here and have grown in the town and brought with them national and international attention. Darlington’s performance is rightly being recognised at the highest levels, with an independent survey in just the last few weeks naming it as the seventh best place to live in the whole country and a recent RBS report showing the town had the best performing North East economy for the third consecutive quarter, beating all UK regional averages outside London. That success is the foundation of the united town revealed on the following pages, made of thousands of companies from every sector, but with a common goal – to take every opportunity to make sure investors and business leaders across Yorkshire realise how much is happening here and why its global reputation is so richly deserved. The whole town is ready to open its doors to anyone who wants to share in that success and be a part of the Darlington story.

AN OPPORTUNIT Y TAKEN - INDUS TRIES TRANSFORMED

Ian Williams looks at the history and potential of Central Park

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room501 Publishing Ltd, Spectrum 6, Spectrum Business Park, Seaham, SR7 7TT. www.bqlive.co.uk. Business Quarter (BQ) is a leading national business brand recognised for celebrating and inspiring entrepreneurship. The multi-platform brand currently reaches entrepreneurs and senior business executives across the North East, Scotland, Yorkshire and the West Midlands. BQ has established a UK wide regional approach to business engagement reaching a highly targeted audience of entrepreneurs and senior executives in high growth businesses both in-print, online and through branded events. All contents copyright © 2015 room501 Ltd. All rights reserved. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, no responsibility can be accepted for inaccuracies, howsoever caused. No liability can be accepted for illustrations, photographs, artwork or advertising materials while in transmission or with the publisher or their agents. All profiles are paid for advertising. All information is correct at time of going to print, December 2015.

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Town with an ingenious plan A big town needs a big brand – Mike Hughes looks at Ingenious Darlington It has been a key aim of Darlington’s development strategy to protect and promote the town’s identity and let it retain its own character rather than just join the herd. So as various parts of the town have grown and new places have been added, the Darlington brand has become more powerful than ever. As one way of uniting the changes, the town is building on one of its key assets – ingenuity. A cross-section of passionate people and businesses of all sizes from all sectors are signing up for Ingenious Darlington – a marketing project setting out to tell the story of the town. They have all recognised that ingenuity is a Darlington word, starting from the textiles and railways and continuing with the Forge and the National Biologics Centre and so many other projects. The brand is on show on letterheads, posters and websites and will be proudly waved as a flag of support for the town. Rockliffe Hall chairman Warwick Brindle, who has been at the heart of the creation and development of the brand, said the drive to protect the marketing of the town came after the dismantling of One North East, one of eight Regional Development Agencies around the country. “There was then no tourist board left and each council had to make its own way into inward investment, promotion and marketing. That was tough with no structure to call on. “A couple of years ago I was at a meeting of private and public sector companies wanting to promote the town and come up with a marketing plan. “We looked back at the history of the town and at the universities and what was coming up and all the things many people don’t know about and it seemed right. I had been in enough meetings in the past where ideas to promote a town were along the

lines of ‘let’s tell them we’ve got transport and trees and electricity!’ “It would drive me crackers when people only looked at the obvious. It just doesn’t work. But this team looked at it differently and we all knew it had to be clever.”

The dictionary definition of ingenious is ‘cleverly and originally devised and well suited to its purpose’. That seems spot-on for Darlington, and when you list synonyms like inventive, creative, imaginative, original, innovative, resourceful, enterprising and inspired, you realise that Ingenious should really be next to Darlington in any business dictionary. “We want to stimulate interest in the town and draw in people who might be interested in investing,” said Warwick. “When they ask about the Ingenious tag the whole town will tell them to look at the history of the place, and add ingredients like the universities at Teesside, Durham and Newcastle almost on its doorstep, for instance. People don’t know these things and we are building a way of telling them.” Backing for the brand and its website www.ingeniousdarlington.co.uk has come from all sectors of the town, including Bussey & Armstrong; the Centre for Process Innovation; Real Results Marketing; Darlington Building Society; Teesside University; the NECC; Handelsbanken; Hewitt’s Solicitors; The Northern Echo; Mercure Darlington Kings Hotel; St. Teresa’s Hospice; Darlington Credit Union; Lingfield Point; Houndgate Townhouse hotel; Darlington Business Club; Harvey and Hugo PR; Caroline Hinde Accountancy; Festival of Thrift; Willow Tree Gardens and Age UK. Sara Williams, Head of Marketing & Business Development at Lingfield Point said: “The story we can tell about our town is simple. In fact it’s ingenious and has allowed us all to tie the town’s past, its present, but most importantly of all, inspire its future. “ Houndgate Townhouse director Natalie Cooper added: “We’re really pleased to be involved in a new initiative promoting Darlington. It’s such a great place to eat, drink, sleep and do business.” n

INTERVIEW bqlive.co.uk

There’s only one Darlington Ada Burns, chief executive of Darlington Borough Council, talks about the partnerships and pride at the heart of Darlington’s success Darlington is a partnership – a living and breathing example of how working together can bring the best out of businesses and people. For council chief executive Ada Burns, this is her proudest achievement, to be one key part of the relationship that links all sectors to form the town’s own lifecycle, from start-ups to multi-nationals and from primary school pupils to pensioners. “It is such an exciting time to be in and around Darlington,” she says in her office, with views that instantly back up her view, with the new DfE building on one side, the Feethams leisure development on another and the vibrant centre of the town just a few steps away. “Wherever you go in the town there is change, but none of it has come out of the blue – it is the product of a long-term strategy which is matched by the confidence of investors who share our vision. “We have been working with developers for some time now and it has been a measure of Darlington’s underlying strengths that we have continued planning even through recession. We more than bounced back from that – with growth and opportunities accelerating all the time.” The council shares the town’s ambition to be a one-stop destination for local residents as well as long-distance shoppers and businesses, with a choice of high-quality places to work, shop, eat, drink, relax and sleep. “Our aim for many years has been about building a wider and more diverse economy and exploiting the two big advantages we have – connectivity in rail, road and air and the quality of life our environment offers. “The ever-present culture of ingenuity, with talent and skills born in our industrial past, means the town is, and will continue

to be, the home of innovation in many different industries. “These firms show that it is clearly not a short-term boost that is happening in Darlington, but a long-term plan that perfectly fits a growing town. “We knew for some time that we could attract such high-profile projects as the National Biologics Centre run by the Centre for Process Innovation, because we had planned significant sites and places like Central Park. But the opportunity to develop a biopharmaceuticals cluster around the centre wasn’t something we particularly went out looking for – they found us. “With GlaxoSmithKline, Fujifilm and Teesside University, they knew we had access to the right labour market and skills opportunities, whether people lived in the town or were commuting in from Newcastle, York or Leeds. “One of the great benefits of being a small council is that we can be very fleet of foot and when such opportunities arise, we can go for it and capitalise on it. Everyone just downs tools on everything else they are doing and gets together and brings out a really strong proposition.” One prime example is the Department for Education. From the first confirmation that the DfE might have to leave the town for Newcastle or Durham to find a new base, it was only 18 months until they were walking through the doors of the new HQ in the centre of Darlington. “We had to take a few risks, for the council to decide to borrow for an office block,” said Ada.

“That was not an easy decision, but it didn’t take long to get made because our politicians understand that you have to take a few chances, but you evaluate the risks and you make your move. “Our council has always been aware that it is not councils that create jobs, it is businesses. Our job is to facilitate their success.” The council’s team brings together a unique house-by-house, business-by-business knowledge of how the town ticks with a pinpoint strategy for how to make the most of its assets, and brought them together in One Darlington: Perfectly Placed, an overarching plan for the future of the 100,000 people who live in Darlington, and for the place where they live – one town, twenty four villages and smaller rural settlements, and the surrounding countryside. For years now the council has been giving its people the recognition and respect they deserve and the freedom they need to care for their town and that unity of purpose matters to investors and potential new businesses and is making the crucial difference that brings innovation and enterprise to our doorstep from all over the country. “I’ve been here for ten years now and have found the people of Darlington have an incredible sense of civic pride,” says Ada. “They are rightly demanding of their leaders to keep their town as a good town. That brings a huge strength and a great feeling of loyalty. We are moving the town ahead together, while always remembering we have our forefathers to thank for the way

“Wherever you go in the town there is change, but none of it has come out of the blue – it is the product of a long-term strategy which is matched by the confidence of investors who share our vision”

INTERVIEW bqlive.co.uk

Darlington has evolved so far and for some of the beautiful assets they left us. “It’s a compact town with its big multiples to give a full choice and then the leisure side at Feethams which is bridged by the Civic Theatre, and then the wonderful character and history of the wynds, Grange Road and Duke Street, with vibrant independent shops.” The future direction of the town will not only be decided in its own streets and families, it will come from outside the area, as the town’s ever-growing confidence and louder voice across the country attracts more investment and builds a brighter future. A particular example of productive collaboration is through a close relationship with the Local Enterprise Partnership, Tees Valley Unlimited. “TVU has provided great support to us in terms of attracting inward investment, and helping our existing businesses to grow,” said Ada.

“It works closely with Darlington Council staff to provide a comprehensive service to businesses in terms of finding the right sites and premises, help with site visits and support with funding applications. “Looking ahead, we’re also really excited at what the devolution deal will do for Tees Valley, through the Combined Authority and elected Mayor. We will have significant control over employment and skills, transport, planning and business support and investment, which will help us achieve our economic growth goals. With that sharp focus and united effort, the workforce will come here at all levels, from chief executives to apprentices, and they will all expect to make their homes and bring up their families in houses as impressive as the town they are set in. “We respect the traditions of our past, but also know how to reimagine them for future generations,” said Ada. “The many developers we have worked with

so far have been quick to understand what we want and have really been in a league of their own. They don’t just arrive and put in a new estate – they work with us to create sustainable new communities like West Park, which Bussey & Armstrong started with a village centre and all the facilities new homes should be able to gather around. “There has to be living space for a growing population and for the number of jobs that are going to be created here, both new jobs coming to the town and replacement jobs for growing industries that are already here.” The council’s skill in drawing up a holistic strategy for the town also has a huge focus on education, and how that knits seamlessly together with industry, housing, retail and economic policy. The landmark new buildings housing the college and university at one end of Central Park are not just skin-deep. They are whole environments developed with Ada and the council to stimulate and support the essential training and skills development Darlington’s industries demand. “It is about lighting a spark in Darlington’s next generation to take them into the industries of the future,” said Ada. With free schools and foundation schools around the town, education leaders are showing they are ready for independence and to help form policies and strategies with the council. A partnership called schools@ onedarlington sees headteachers from all primary and secondary schools in the town meet regularly to discuss issues that affect their children. Ada Burns is understandably proud of Darlington and the work of the council. “From way back in our history the people who built and run this town have never rested on their laurels. We work with our partners in the town all the time, not just patting each other on the back, but having strong relationships that are productive and constructive. “By doing that, we develop a team of different disciplines that come together for a single purpose.” That team is now around 100,000 strong, with voices raised, strategies written and wearing their hearts on their sleeves. Welcome to Darlington. n

INSIGHT bqlive.co.uk

Securing subsea skills The subsea sector has had the experience and agility to cope with challenging markets and the resilience to plan for the future. Mike Hughes reports The innovation in the subsea sector in Darlington has been nothing less than trailblazing. As rising seas crashed around Oil & Gas workers, it was technology drawn up and developed in this town that was withstanding the most unforgiving conditions and helping protect highly-skilled teams battling to feed our energy needs. The key words for any firm whose work touches the Oil & Gas sectors is flexibility and diversification. Darlington knows well the importance of not being afraid to reinvent. The fact that Darlington has a subsea sector at all can come as a surprise. It is probably down to one simple factor – the people with all the ideas lived in or around the town, and wanted to stay here. Charles Tompkins and Gary Bland both lived in the area and were keen to stay among Darlington’s greenery and space – and they needed somewhere where they could fulfil their potential to grow and make the region an unlikely hotbed for subsea work. In 1986, Tompkins set up Northern Offshore Services (NOS) to install subsea pipes and cables and opened up the market for power and telecommunications cables buried under the seabed. He formed his own consultancy (CTC) in Darlington, which became CTC Marine and helped transform the subsea cabling industry. His son Jake now runs Modus Seabed Intervention, a specialist provider of project services and remote technologies based in Beaumont House in the middle of town. Gary Bland is chairman of Subsea Innovation, and grew a considerable reputation through his work at Tekmar Group, which SI used to be part of. Subsea Innovation MD Martin Moon, a former naval architect at Swan Hunter, said: “Most companies set up for one of two reasons. Either the infrastructure is such

that it dictates where it goes - in which case you would put a subsea company on the coast – or it is where the people who come up with the initial plans and designs started the business. “Being in Darlington has great benefits, and if you go anywhere around the world you will bump into people from round here who are in the offshore game. “From my point of view I have had opportunities to go back down South, but my family and I wouldn’t move from this region. And there has been phenomenal help from the council who knew how important we were and wanted to keep the business here and help develop it.” The company recently opened a 40,000sqft base at the Faverdale Industrial Estate, which was double the size of its previous facility. “As the market changes, we are determined to broaden the scope of what we can design and manufacture and use our considerable skill-sets in new marketplaces. We are doing more bespoke design and build work, looking more heavily towards the windfarm markets, which is obviously becoming more buoyant,” he said. Darlington’s unlikely reputation as a centre

of subsea work was emphasised only last year when Modus helped open a unique training and education facility in the town. The Centre for Subsea Technology Awareness, Training and Education (C-STATE) was developed by Modus in partnership with Darlington College, Teesside University, Tees Valley Unlimited and Darlington Borough Council, and is being run by Maritime Training and Competence Solutions. The purpose built facility at the college offers a range of subsea courses from apprenticeships to further and higher education, and industry-recognised and accredited training, which include hands-on access to a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). Modus MD Jake Tompkins said location was a key factor: “The Tees Valley is a significant and growing centre for the offshore supply chain. Darlington’s local airports serve Aberdeen, London and the continent as well as many other international locations on a daily basis; it’s on the national mainline rail network and has first rate local facilities. “We hope to be able to create significant opportunities for individuals and companies alike and ultimately bridge the skills gap in an important industrial sector.” n

OVERVIEW bqlive.co.uk

An opportunity taken industries transformed

Darlington’s director of economic growth Ian Williams looks at the history and potential of Central Park ‘Always plan ahead’ would make an ideal motto for Ian Williams. He is the council director who decides where Darlington’s economic growth should take place and how it should happen - which makes him a very busy man.

Pride of place in his office is a plan of Central Park, the linear development zone stretching from the College and University to Business Central and the National Biologics Manufacturing Centre. It is a hugely impressive blueprint, and the perfect example of the town making sure it always has the vision – and capacity - for the next big idea. “It’s an extremely exciting project – to come from former rail sidings under a number of different ownerships to the developing cluster we now have,” said Ian. We started with a clear vision of a business and education quarter, close to Bank Top Station, supported by new housing in a landscaped setting. We see Central Park being a place of inspiration and innovation that will drive the regional economy. “From the college relocation some years ago followed by the arrival of the Teesside University campus, which gave the town a renewed impetus and focus, this has always been about the agility of the council to respond to opportunities as they come along. “We were always going to do Business Central Darlington because we needed incubator space in the right location, but getting the Centre for Process Innovation and its biologics centre next door was a bonus and was testimony to the vision we had.” CPI is now planning to build the Factories of the Future development, looking at the global potential of personalised medicine and the National Horizons Centre, delivering skills and workforce development. “The very fact that the CPI and the university are working together on the National Horizons Centre – from both ends of Central Park – underlines why we need a spine road to give access to them both and help define a number of other plots that we can aggressively market for other uses for years to come, says Ian. “Central Park is a well planned development

creating something that has a science feel, but also a good quality environment, which is why the parkland is so important to the whole site. It is a flagship area, so we want people to be proud that they are there. “Our aim is that the developments already here will spin out successful companies, which will want to move to a larger space in Darlington and continue the development cycle. “Central Park and its keystone developments are examples of the council driving up the quality of the opportunities we create. These companies bring with them a lot of highquality technical and graduate jobs with a very high spec to find the right candidates, whether they come from Teesside University or from further afield. “We are carving out a niche opportunity for Darlington, from Central Park to Faverdale and Lingfield Point – but also for the wider Tees Valley. “Firms coming here will have a menu of requirements that we are now in a position to be able to satisfy.” Feethams leisure and office quarter in the middle of Darlington radically changes what the town has to offer and will be a big part of the plan to build a vibrant centre that will cater for all needs from early morning to late night. But there is also great potential at sites like Faverdale to the North which have been turned from tired industrial estates into wide open opportunities for everything from small industrial to legal practices and to large-scale warehousing and distribution for Aldi and Argos. “The journey never stops in this town, it is about people and what they need to enjoy the town and work and live here,” says Ian. “I am passionate about economic development because I know it is the lifeblood of this town.” n

INSIGHT bqlive.co.uk

University forges ahead There is a dictionary definition that says Forge means to create something strong, enduring, or successful. That seems to perfectly sum up what Laura Woods is doing at Teesside University’s Darlington campus

In 2010 Teesside University had the foresight to build a campus in Darlington. The reputation of the town for far-reaching innovation and highly-motivated students deserved a £13m investment. Now the university is a key part of Central Park, the 30-hectare former brownfield site which is already home to Darlington College, the National Biologics Manufacturing Centre and Business Central Darlington as well as a community forming in the streets of new housing. This is a formidable team – a partnership that has come together to build a national home for the most revolutionary technologies imaginable. For director of academic enterprise Laura Woods, rebranding the campus as The Forge underlined the business-facing strategy that has established the university’s national status and will add to its international standing under new vice-chancellor and chief executive Professor Paul Croney. “We put a lot of effort into establishing the

brand in the business world and make it really clear to companies that there is one place to come, one phone call to make or one email to send to start making the right connections with us,” said Laura in her Forge office facing the college campus. “Our business innovation team is based at The Forge and will work alongside their academic colleagues who will deliver whatever businesses need. To know what makes them tick we will spend time with them to find out what the challenges are. “We also have access to talent for them to work with, in our students and graduates working across our excellent networks here. “This isn’t just a small adjunct of Teesside University, it is a full campus to add weight in Darlington and turn it into a university town to add to its growing status. “Central Park will add again to that status. The way it has grown around us is a massive boost for the university and the town. The opportunities here looked fantastic when we first moved here, but since then a whole new

set have opened up for students in the town. “We have the perfect coming together of industry and education - all the ingredients for an unprecedented opportunity, but there is still so much more for us to go after, and many opportunities to come our way. With a place like Darlington, you never know what could be coming here in two or three years time,” says Laura. “The National Horizons Centre is a great example of the speed with which an idea can become a development. “The National Biologics Manufacturing Centre focuses on near-market R&D for biologics companies, but what it does not have is enough people with enough skills to deliver that and handle the changes it will all bring. “There is already a significant recruitment problem in the sector, so the NHC will be a partnership between the university and the Centre for Process Innovation which runs the NBMC, to deliver that skills provision. “We will work from FE at the college right through to post-doctorate level for the bio industry across the UK – which is both exciting and ambitious. In the true spirit of Darlington partnerships, we will also work with other providers as well, from FE and university centres around the country. “Darlington is so perfectly situated for this work and it is such a community-based town where people are proud of where they belong. The new developments like Central Park just add to the feeling that it is a really progressive place, nimble enough to take advantage of the chances when they are presented.” This is the evolving face of Darlington – forever at the cutting edge of trading and technology, securing a future for proud people who are eager to learn and grow. n

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Chosen to be at the cutting edge The arrival of the National Biologics Manufacturing Centre in Darlington is the clearest sign yet that the town is on the nation’s radar. Mike Hughes reports

Darlington has been a town of pioneers for generations, harnessing its strength and history to build a bold future. That history will always include the railways, where trade, innovation and finance came together and created a global reputation that continues to grow. But now the world’s attention is being brought back to the town by three letters – CPI. The Centre for Process Innovation is a key part of a national infrastructure to support process industry clients by using its vast bank of knowledge in science and engineering combined with state of the art facilities to help companies develop, prove, prototype and scale up cutting edge pharmaceutical products and processes. The CPI, which also has centres at Redcar and Sedgefield, de-risks innovation by allowing products to be proven before they go to market – an essential step, particularly for small companies who have the breakthrough ideas, but not the budget or expertise to take it on quickly enough. As part of the Government’s ‘Strategy for UK Life Sciences’ launched in 2011, the CPI,

led by CEO Nigel Perry, was given the job of establishing and managing a £38m National Biologics Manufacturing Centre – and a site at the southern end of Darlington’s flagship Central Park enterprise zone was chosen as its base – Number One Union Square. Darlington fended off 30 other UK sites to the secure the centre - including science powerhouse Cambridge – and was chosen due to its location, close proximity to existing pharmaceutical companies and major universities, and the remarkable growth opportunities within the Tees Valley Enterprise Zone. “A lot of the UK’s manufacturing is based in the North East and the universities are located nearby, so people are getting used to these decisions not being given to the Golden Triangle around Cambridge, Oxford and London,” says CPI director of Biologics Chris Dowle. Biologics – or biopharmaceuticals - are medicines that come from plants or other biological sources, a sector that is growing rapidly. Alongside its own work, the new national centre will mirror the goals of the CPI in supporting companies bringing products to market. The centre has certainly hit the ground running, going from the first spade on a bare plot in April 2014 to worldwide commissions within 18 months - testimony to the council’s ability to spot the right achievable opportunity and move fast to secure a deal.

Chris has been with the CPI for more than 11 years, and was its third employee after Nigel Perry and his office manager Val Briggs set the company up and in 2007 set up the National Industrial Biotechnology Facility at Wilton, the first of CPI’s national centres. “Developing a biopharmaceutical to such a stage that it could be ready for clinical trials is highly complex and could cost many millions of pounds. But now they can come to someone with the assets, skills and capability to help make that breakthrough,” says Chris. The CPI’s work will be boosted by the National Horizons Centre, to be run by a partnership between it and Teesside University, along with Darlington College, the Borough Council and subsea training body C-STATE that will look at skills, leadership and innovation in emerging technologies. And then will come the CPI’s £20m Factory of the Future development, backed by £10m from Tees Valley Unlimited, the Local Enterprise Partnership. This will back companies looking deep into the field of personalised medicine, which involves a move away from one-size-fits-all to therapies that may ultimately specifically match a single person’s DNA. “We would like the whole Darlington cluster to be a Northern science centre. The town has the people with the right attitude and the willingness. The brand Ingenious Darlington describes exactly what I have found here,” said Chris. n

“We would like the whole Darlington cluster to be a Northern science centre. The town has the people with the right attitude and the willingness”

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Business Central provides the scaffolding to help start-ups build Centre manager Vanessa Wood gives Mike Hughes a look inside Business Central, Darlington’s new home for SMEs There is a surge of activity around Darlington as a business-facing town eager to grasp every opportunity to attract jobs and investment. One of the many benefits of that drive from business leaders and council leaders alike is that many residents and neighbours are inspired to set up their own businesses. These are just as likely to start in a back bedroom ‘office’ as in a spinout from Teesside University or Darlington College, but they need commercial scaffolding in place as they build, to support their plans. As you leave the town’s railway station at the Parkgate side, there in front of you is the answer – Business Central Darlington. Run by the North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC), Business Central is home to up to 60 small businesses who pay from just £50 or £60 a week for office space which can be adapted to hold from one to about ten staff. Crucially for smaller firms or those on the move, there is also a single-day facility for meetings, month-by-month membership packages or simply room to get your laptop out at one of the desks in the Open Spaces. And because that is the way business works, the centre has 24-hour swipecard access. So if you suddenly have that flash of inspiration, your room is there for you. This is equally valuable if you are working internationally and it is 8am in the morning in Beijing, but 1am in Central Park. “BIC has been around for about 20 years and was among the organisations who bid to run the centre for the council,” explained Centre Manager Vanessa Wood, who previously worked down the road in Newton Aycliffe. “We will work with anyone from any sector

around Darlington - there are no exclusions as long as the company is an SME. We have on-site business advisers who will help them and we’re partners with Tedco, an Enterprise Agency already working across the region. “Those short term occupancies and day rates are becoming very popular, because we know that a lot of Darlington start-ups are home-based and sometimes you need to have meetings, usually at coffee shops

and service stations. So it becomes much more professional to come here and work for a few hours with a client. “It is all happening at just the right time for Darlington,” says Vanessa. “The enterprise zone, the university, the housing has all come together and there has been great foresight from the council to see what they can do to help SMEs develop here. “It has always had a history of small business, in manufacturing, retail and engineering and that is obviously continuing, as the take-up of the spaces is proving. People just want to be able to do better, and it is great that they have that spark and that we might be able to do something to help. “I hope all the work going on in the town creates a complete lifecycle for the people who live here. They will be born in the town, might live in a new house at Central Park, then the children will go to college and university and get employment here. “They don’t need to leave the region, but if they do then they can always come back and work here and get good quality support and a fantastic supply chain to work with. If people come and talk to us at Business Central, they will find we are ready for that next generation.” Just as people in the town have always had the ideas, so the buildings have always existed where they can grow them into a business. But this is a new Darlington, and it needed new spaces that matched the aspirations of its young businessmen and businesswomen. Saying you are from Darlington is an impressive business card in itself for any young SME, but then showing your client to your office at Business Central would really seal the deal. n

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Talking to a gentleman of leisure

Simon Hawkins of developers Urban & Civic guides Mike Hughes around Feethams Darlington - one of the most important projects in the town centre Darlington is evolving, with a non-stop line of major projects to keep it at the top of the league for regional towns. One that particularly epitomises the way forward for the town is Feethams, a landmark £14million leisure development that expands the heart of the town. Inspired by the council’s vision, the scheme has been masterminded by Urban & Civic and built by McLaughlin and Harvey. On the site of the former Arriva bus depot, it dominates the area alongside the Dolphin sports centre, the council’s own buildings and the DfE offices and provides a stunning new quarter for residents and visitors and opens up the riverside. With a nine-screen Vue Cinema, 80-bed Premier Inn hotel and seven bar and restaurant units snapped up by such big names as Bella Italia, Nando’s, Hungry Horse, Chinese Buffet and Prezzo, the plan shows there are no limits to Darlington’s ambitions. The 400 people who will find work here is a key investment in the future of the town, along with 70 full-time construction jobs provided by the building work. “The council had the vision to identify the land and mastermind the whole area,” explained Urban & Civic’s development Director Simon Hawkins, who was brought up in the town and went to college here. “One thing they were always clear on was that the town needed a leisure development, anchored with a multi-screen cinema, so people had the viewing choice that they had been leaving the town to find. “Darlington has been looking for this type of offer for many years. Markets always have development cycles and there are only certain points where this size of project is actually deliverable.

“It’s all about timing and this time they got it just about perfect. The occupier market was strong and the corporate side to the town was ready for more. They received the plans very warmly. “There has been an in-built demand for the right space in the town. The council’s vision is exactly in line with national planning guidelines, which move away from the 1980s and 1990s out-of-town developments and bring leisure back into the town centres. “But that brings obvious knock-on effects, so we worked with the Highways Authority to make sure there was a variety of ways to get to the site easily, the capacity of junctions and roads - all the things we wanted to make sure were in place. “The train station is a five-minute walk away, there are bus stops just outside Feethams and there are taxi ranks nearby, all to go alongside the private cars, which will use the new multi-storey car park here just over the road, where there are 650 spaces. “It really is perfectly located.

“And this was very much a leisure site, so right from the start we made sure we weren’t stretching the town centre and that Feethams wouldn’t take away from existing businesses. “The rest of the town works so hard to keep people here, and this will help that whole-day offer and stop people leaving the town for something they can’t get here.” “This is a first-class town and it is now getting a first-class development that everyone – including the council – can be proud of,” said Simon. “The council has been hugely supportive – from their first vision of what they wanted, they have been working closely with us to deliver and promote the scheme. It is hugely important for all Urban & Civic’s programmes that we have that infrastructure around us from local authorities.” People like Simon Hawkins are building the town for the future, making sure it is on sound foundations. It doesn’t stop here – but it is certainly taking a huge leap forward. n

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A town that knows no limits Mike Hughes looks to the future of the town with Darlington Borough Council Leader Bill Dixon Darlington is a town whose future is built on connections. Just as the opening 190 years ago of the railway linking Stockton and Darlington put the town so firmly on the map for innovation, now commercial relationships, infrastructure and high-speed broadband have pushed it to the top of the list for investors and businesses. The council has guided and overseen a root and branch transformation of strategy and outlook that has laid solid foundations for the future, and built the town’s reputation to attract the biggest companies with the most far-reaching plans. Bill Dixon is a born and bred Darlington leader, and a councillor since 1979. His pride in the town’s history is matched only by his vision for the future of the town. “Darlington has gone through a transition,” he says. “And a lot of that is a case of back to the future, with such a resurgence of skills at such landmark companies as Cummins and Whessoe that is symbolic of what the future holds for Darlington. Advanced manufacturing will always be a big part of Darlington, with managers who are really pushing their plants to provide the products we are famous for. “We have so many firms that are embedded in the town and committed to it and their success draws others in across an endless range of sectors, with subsea being one of the newest, but already with a huge reputation worldwide. “We understand that someone with a corporate career will be told to go somewhere and they will go because that’s how you develop a career. A skilled workforce can be sourced locally or trained up here, but the critical mass of these companies, the very highly skilled technicians, will only go where it is best for their families.

“But it has to be all knitted together, with residential as the final connection. We don’t want people having to live in Darlington, we need them wanting to live here, and work here, rather than work and commute from somewhere else. Commuting doesn’t make for a holistic community.” Protecting and developing facilities like the Civic Theatre and making sure the town and its surroundings stay as green as they are now are also vital components as Darlington builds a future for itself. Restoring the theatre to its original glory is part of a £7.8m project which includes the creation of a new café-bar and gallery, better disabled access and improvements to backstage areas, which will allow the theatre

when they get there. There will always be something to like. “And while they are there we have well above the national average for small independent shops surrounding them and we have the covered market as well as the big supermarket brands. “These all add up to a huge pull for incoming industries. We want to continue to be a place where workers who may be passing through on a contract will want to stay because it offers a quality of life that is missing in so many towns.” That continuing influx of businesses is the lifeblood of regional towns and Darlington’s future lies in keeping that flow coming in as well as staying close to the home-grown

“We don’t want people having to live in Darlington, we need them wanting to live here, and work here, rather than work and commute from somewhere else” to accommodate even larger shows and bigger names. And it is the people who will be at the centre of this project, with a Darlington Civic Theatre Foundation fund being run by the County Durham Community Foundation to ensure it makes a real difference to supporters near and far. “The other essential elements of continued growth are our schools and shops. We have always had outstanding schools that have been among the very top performers and we will always make sure we have the right range of shops – and the ones we don’t have in the town centre will always be within commuting distance. “We’ve seen the value of a cluster effect with the range of food destinations we can offer. When one comes they all come in and now people can go to the likes of Duke Street for a meal and just take their pick

SMEs that need a base in the town, but also have to swiftly build relationships and have the chance to expand and pump money back into the town’s economy. “We won’t just look at the big guys,” says Bill. “The philosophy is to get alongside our businesses in the good times and then be in a position to get ahead of the curve with them if they are struggling. We will continually lean on anyone we can to leverage support for our firms and help steer them through a labyrinth of options.” Bill and the council understand the needs of those smaller businesses. They know they need to be fast-tracked because their businesses are vulnerable in their early stages. “There is no point in sending them glossy brochures about the sales potential at a Munich festival, they just can’t afford the time away from their business. Many SMEs around here have never sold a

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product outside the area and often aren’t trained in the techniques of selling or exporting, so we should just give them a box – pure and simple. “Tell them to put their product in the box along with a 4,000-word description and we will take it to Munich for them. They can stay and make their widgets and we will help sell them. “Helping SMEs can be easier than some people make it look – and Darlington is in a position to rethink how it’s done.” The connection between all these factors is what gives Darlington its advantage and gives it the pulling power to bring in such game-changing national projects as the £38m National Biologics Manufacturing Centre. The connection goes right back to the men who built the railways, through the long established Darlington companies, to the new businesses start-ups all around the town and then to the national projects that want to come here. Each of those needs the other in the matrix and together they will grow in Darlington

and as they do they will add another strata to those foundations and others will build on that and the next generation of Darlington development is created, as Bill explains. “Our planning for the future of the town means we have to be able to bring onstream land around Darlington faster than we might have intended. We have always maintained a strategic landbank, which means there are sizeable chunks of land that could house the really high-end SMEs that will be coming out of that biologics sector. “Often these new firms will set up anywhere from 5 miles to 25 miles away. But we don’t want them 25 miles away – we want them in the town so we will always be ready to move fast. “We will find a way to help any new businesses or new sectors - that’s what we do in Darlington. Any company – like Hitachi at Newton Aycliffe - that comes remotely near us, we will be there for them with a very focussed council team who will go after the business and grab it. Very little gets away from us.

“I really believe the aspirations of the town are limitless,” said Bill. “We won’t let it grow into something that is ‘neither nowt nor summat’. The last five years have been hectic, but transformational, with the private sector working with us to keep that Darlington spirit alive and thriving.” That spirit is embodied in the Ingenious Darlington initiative, a cross-section of people and organisations who do not pull their punches in fighting alongside the council. They say “that same imaginative spirit, blind to reason, which allowed a small group of railway-men and women to kick-start modernity, is still alive and well.” With Bill and the council backing businesses every step of the way for the future prospects of a 100,000-plus population, those people who might ask about Darlington ‘is that near Newcastle or Manchester?’ will soon get the message like the rest of the country. We don’t need to be ‘near’ anywhere else. This is Darlington, building on a peerless heritage and a thriving reputation to create an exciting and limitless future. n

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