Aycliffe Today Business Aycliffe Today Business Issue 41 | Page 15

The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 15
WALK IN THE PARK
New hotel part of £140m business park
plans approved by councillors
P
lans to create a £140m business park
with the potential to create up to 3,200
jobs have been approved.
Forrest Park (Newton Aycliffe) has secured
outline planning permission to develop a
55-hectare site located at the southeast of
the town for commercial and manufacturing
use.
A 60-bed hotel, a public house, a roadside
restaurant and retail units have been added
to the business park scheme, which will
see the creation of 1.75m square feet of
business, industrial, warehouse and trade
units.
The development will extend Aycliffe
Business Park to become the largest in the
North and has the potential to create up
to 3,200 jobs and boost County Durham’s
economy by almost half a billion pounds over
the next 20 years.
Durham County Council’s county planning
committee followed planning officers’
recommendations and approved the scheme
at a meeting recently.
A joint venture by the council and the
Forrest family, supported by commercial
property developer Richardson Barberry,
Forrest Park has already attracted
international attention.
Earlier this year it was featured in a
property portfolio, launched
by the Department for
International Trade, to
showcase the wide array of
opportunities on offer in the
UK to foreign investors.
It was one of just
11 projects chosen to
demonstrate Britain’s
strengths in key sectors, from
manufacturing and green
energy production to tourism, business and
housing.
Cllr Simon Henig, leader of Durham County
Council, said: “I am delighted plans for
Forrest Park have been approved. This is an
opportunity for us to attract new businesses
to County Durham, creating thousands of
high-quality jobs and boosting the local
economy.
“This is not just about investing in
today; it is about creating an environment
where businesses can flourish, and future
generations of residents can access exciting
opportunities and enjoy rewarding careers
near to where they live.”
Jonathan Robinson, Barberry
developments director, said: “The approval of
the Forrest Park planning application is major
news for the North East.
“Richardson Barberry, working alongside
Durham County Council, the Forrest family
and the Local Enterprise Partnership, has a
vision to create a business park that provides
a wide range of high-quality accommodation
which will attract local, regional, national and
international occupiers, stimulating economic
growth and new jobs for the region.
“We now have a prominent motorway-
connected, serviced and consented site
ready for development, and are excited at the
prospect of delivering one of the North East’s
premier business parks.”
Last year, planning permission was granted
to improve access to the site. These major
highways, signalisation, drainage and power
upgrades have already been completed,
including the creation of a new traffic light-
controlled junction on the A167.