/ NEWS
The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 11
/ ADVICE
Councillor ’ s £ 350k bid to bring ‘ The Loco ’ back to life
A
Newton Aycliffe councillor has launched an ambitious £ 350,000 crowdfunding bid to buy the dilapidated Locomotion No . 1 pub and bring it back to life .
Great Aycliffe Town independent councillor Paul Symons wants to save the historic pub , known affectionately as ‘ The Loco ’, which has been closed for nearly two years and twice failed to sell at auction recently .
The Grade II-listed Locomotion – valued at £ 210,000 by its owners – needs a complete refurbishment and re-wiring after the building was subjected to vandals and thefts .
But Cllr Symons has launched an audacious attempt to raise £ 350,000 through crowdfunding to first buy the building , and then restore it to a family venue and restaurant .
The Locomotion sits opposite the platform of Heighington train station , on Aycliffe Business Park , which dates back almost 200 years .
It ’ s where George Stephenson ’ s first steam locomotive was assembled to run on the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825 .
It ’ s also just yards away from Hitachi Rail Europe ’ s new £ 82m factory , opened in
The major development to increase the size of Aycliffe Business Park with a huge 55- acre site , including a pub and restaurant , has taken another big step forward .
A developer has been assigned to build Forrest Park , which is said could create more than 3,000 jobs and boost the economy by £ 495m in little over a decade .
As revealed by Aycliffe Today in January , developers revealed that consultations with developers was under way and an outline planning application was close to being finalised .
Richardson Barberry has now been selected to deliver the proposed expansion , which will include more than 1.75 million sq ft of business and industrial units and the potential to accommodate a rail freight interchange .
Richardson Barberry has signed an agreement as retained development partner with Forrest Park Newton Aycliffe – a joint venture between the Forrest family and Durham County Council – and a planning application is about to be submitted to the local authority .
September 2015 , where the Japanese firm is building our trains of the future , bringing train manufacturing back to its native North-East .
Cllr Symons says the pub has vast potential because of its historical significance – with the Darlington-Stockton bicentennial coming up in seven years – and is determined to save it .
The 39-year-old father-of-one told Aycliffe Today : “ It ’ s such a shame to see it how it is . We have a major historical building here and it can be used for all sorts of things .
“ Our main objective is to get the building – it will take some time to get it back up to standards , maybe 12-18 months – and get it back for the community .
“ The business park and Aycliffe as a town have both grown on a massive scale in recent years and it is only going to grow further , with more housing developments and huge expansion plans for the business park .
“ With the bicentennial of the Darlington- Stockton railway line approaching , I think there ’ s huge potential for the Locomotion .”
To donate to Cllr Symons ’ campaign , visit www . crowdfunder . co . uk / refurbishment-of-ahistorical-train-station
Pub and restaurant planned for Forrest Park
The proposals include a range of business , industrial and distribution units varying in size from 30,000 sq ft to 500,000 sq ft , a trade park consisting of 11 units from 5,000 sq ft to 10,000 sq ft , and ancillary amenity uses including roadside food offerings , a public house and restaurant .
Forrest Park – which has attracted £ 13m funding from the Local Enterprise Partnership – could create 3,200 jobs and deliver a gross value added ( GVA ) economic boost to the area of £ 495m over the next 10 to 15 years . A planning decision is expected later this year .
JOIN BUSINESS WATCH
In my role as a Police Community Support Officer ( PCSO ) with the Aycliffe Neighbourhood Police Team , we ’ re inviting companies to get involved in a new Business Watch initiative for Aycliffe Business Park .
Crimes against local businesses affect us all as they have to pass on the cost of these crimes to their customers . Durham Constabulary is working with local businesses to deal with these crimes .
Business Watch is crime reduction initiative that shares information on local business issues .
Our aim is to help reduce business crime and disorder by keeping you informed about crime in your area . You can also have a say and influence local policing .
By joining Business Watch you will receive free updates on crime trends that are occurring in and around your area and messages about the latest scams that could effect your business , be able to report information direct to us and track the responses and updates and have access to local crime information and reports .
Crime prevention measures for businesses isn ’ t that different to residential security . We would always advise people to report all suspicious activity to the police . But there are lots of simple steps you can take to improve the security around your business premises .
We ’ d advise business to always check your land perimeter as well as your building . If your property and security look unloved , then you become a target , so look at your cameras . Do they look like dummy cameras ?
Try to get into good habits of checking your security equipment on a daily or weekly basis , and make sure they ’ re serviced regularly .
We ’ d also suggest having appropriate signage up to make it clear to people what kind of security measures you have in place .
Implement removal is also an easy way to deter thieves . Don ’ t leave things lying around that can assist thieves in either gaining access or taking items from your property , such as ladders , bins , pallets and concrete slabs .
Anyone interested in joining the Aycliffe Business Watch programme can drop me an email to Kieran . Fodden @ durham . pnn . police . uk
Kieran Fodden
Community Support Officer Aycliffe Neighbourhood Police Team