A MAJOR office development celebrated its official opening by announcing it is already a third full.

The team behind the £6.6m Business Central hub in Darlington said they have been amazed by the demand for offices at the site which can provide space for up to 60 companies.

It is hoped Business Central, located in the Central Park Enterprise Zone, will help to support the creation of at least 25 new businesses and more than 300 jobs over a 15-year period.

The project, spearheaded by North-East Business Innovation Centre (BIC) will focus on nurturing established and start-up firms, with specific focus on the digital, biologics and advanced manufacturing sectors. It was made possible with funding from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Earlier this month London-headquartered sustainable transport business Parose Projects and Sunderland's Pulse Creative Marketing took offices at the Darlington site which now has 20 occupants, which includes investment firm Northstar Ventures, who have been moving into the centre over the last six months while building working around the site was completed.

Darlington Borough Council leader Bill Dixon performed the official ribbon-cutting ceremony and hailed the office space, which sits beside the soon-to-open CPI National Biologics Manufacturing Centre, as "another superb resource for the town."

He added: "When you consider that this site was just derelict former marshalling yards and its now a state-of-the-art business hub it shows what can be done when you get enough people pulling together in the same direction.

"With Business Central and CPI a few yards away there is a real buzz about this part of town. They are an example of the investment that is being made in the long term future of Darlington."

Paul McEldon, Chief Executive of North East BIC, said: "We have been blown away by the level of interest in Business Central. It says a lot about rising confidence in Darlington and the entrepreneurial spirit in the town.

"The original plan was to have it 25 per cent full in the first 12 months, so to have 20 occupants in already is amazing. We are over the moon."