Member Article

Darlington development reaches new milestone

DARLINGTON: YARM ROAD INTERCHANGE DEVELOPMENT REACHES NEW MILESTONE

• New lettings and Investment Sales on former Torrington site
• Created Investments sold for circa £8.5 million

The arrival of two new tenants on the former Torrington site on Darlington’s Yarm Road marks a milestone in the flourishing site, ten years after it was first acquired for development.

Snap Fitness has opened its first North East gym in the 4,360 sq ft unit beneath the new Travelodge, while Howden’s Joinery has opened a 7,000 sq ft trade counter on the trade park, joining tenants on the site that include the Toby Carvery, Screwfix, Magnet, Yesss and FPE Seals.

The created investments including The Travelodge and The Toby Inn and The Yarm Road Interchange Trade Park have been sold in a collection of deals worth in the region of £8.5m million. It is hoped that a further £5m will be invested in the site, subject to planning.

The 25-acre site, which has been developed by Commercial Development Projects (CDP) of Elland, also includes a 4-acre plot, which is under offer to a car showroom operator. Once that deal is finalised, this will leave only 6.5 acres remaining for development.

The arrival of the eight existing tenants followed infrastructure investment from CDP, including the creation of new roads and car parking, as well as the installation of utilities. The site’s car parking has been designed to support the environment and reduce traffic, with the creation of a number of car share-only spaces. The remaining site is being marketed by agents Connect Property North East (CPNE) and Catterall & Co.

Andrew Wilkinson, director at CPNE commented “The recent Travelodge, gym and multi-let trade park investment sales reflect continued confidence in the UK and in particular North East investment markets in spite of Brexit uncertainties, which continue to feature in daily national press. Demand for quality investment stock has been particularly evident over the last three to six months, resulting in robust pricing and an excellent outcome for our client. This market sentiment might forge the way for future new development in the North East, linked with a robust occupational market particularly in the industrial sector.”

Tim Catterall, director at Catterall and Co, added: “This is a good result for Darlington. Jobs have been created; the site now has critical mass and has found favour with investors. Only a small parcel of land remains available for which we anticipate good demand.”

James Marshall, Director of Commercial Development Projects Ltd, said: “We are very pleased to have successfully invested in the North East and Darlington, providing jobs and a new lease of life to this site, for now and the future of the area.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jonathan Simpson .