Council headquarters relocation set to create 250 new jobs begins next month

A construction project expected to create 250 jobs is scheduled to begin next month in County Durham.

Works are set to begin on Durham County Council’s new headquarters in Durham city centre, in order to facilitate the development of its former Aykley Heads site into a multi-million pound business district that is anticipated to create up to 6,000 new jobs.

Initial work will start on the new headquarters in August, with construction firm Kier scheduled to commence the main construction of the base in September.

Located at the Sands car park in Durham city centre, the new headquarters will house 1,000 staff from the current County Hall site, with a further 850 staff to be relocated to one of four council office sites being developed across the county.

Cllr Joy Allen, Cabinet member for transformation, culture and tourism at Durham County Council, said: “The development of the Aykley Heads site presents a once in a generation opportunity to transform the county’s economic prospects, with the development of what will be one of the most attractive business parks in the whole of the North East, and has the full support of the business community.

“The planned development will create thousands of new high-quality jobs and future employment opportunities for our young people, as well as bringing millions of pounds of investment into the county.

“The relocation of our headquarters is key to this but, furthermore, it will also enable us to develop a more efficient civic building in the heart of Durham City, providing an all year- round economic boost in trade in the city centre.”