DARLINGTON is well placed to grow economically in the coming years, so long as local people are given the right education and training to take employment opportunities, a regional expert has said.

Rory Sherwood Parkin, economic strategy and intelligence manager for Tees Valley Unlimited (TVU), the local enterprise partnership (LEP) the Teesside area, said Darlington is in a position to thrive in key areas such as biologics and innovative healthcare, logistics and advanced manufacturing.

He highlighted the town’s geographic position on the A1(M), A66 and the East Coast Main Line, as being vital to its future growth and stressed the importance of investment in that infrastructure if the town was to succeed.

Mr Sherwood-Parkin gave a talk to Darlington Borough Council’s place scrutiny committee to give his insight in to the economic situation in both Darlington and the wider Tees Valley.

He sounded a note of caution about Darlington’s prospects, noting that it was a challenge to ensure further education providers were offering skills and courses relevant to the local economy.

He also urged the council to continue to lobby alongside TVU for upgrades to the electrification of the East Coast Main Line, a stronger Durham Tees Valley Airport and an improved A1(M).

Mr Sherwood-Parkin added: “Darlington being part of the Tees Valley really helps – we have an agreed vision for what we want to get done.

“Influencing the government is a lot easier as a LEP rather than as an individual local authority. We’ve done well previously in that regard by securing national and EU funding.

“Going forward, that joint working will continue as part of the Tees Valley Combined Authority.”

The talk was followed by a presentation from Owen Wilson, the council’s economy manager, who gave a review of the authority’s economic strategy up to 2026.

He said increasing the employability skills of the town’s workforce, making improvements to infrastructure and promoting Darlington as a place to invest were high on the agenda.

Latest figures show that Darlington has an employment rate of 73.5 per cent – above the pre-recession rate – against a Tees Valley average of 66.5 per cent and a national average of 71.9 per cent.

Unemployment stands at eight per cent, with some 1,965 people on job seekers allowance, while youth unemployment is 5.6 per cent.