FURTHER plans for a new medical research centre in Darlington have been approved by councillors.

Darlington Borough Council’s planning committee has approved finer details of plans for a new three-storey building in the town’s Central Park, which will house The Centre for Process Innovation’s (CPI) New Health Futures Centre Facility.

The development will allow companies to test and make medicines for the therapeutic supply chain, and it will it sit alongside and work with the CPI’s £38m National Biologics Manufacturing Centre, which opened in 2015.

CPI previously told The Northern Echo up to 100 jobs will be supported in its construction, with about 20 posts created to run the site.

A report for the planning committee said: “The proposed building would provide a serviced bio-incubator facility to promote the development and growth of healthcare start-ups and SMEs.

“As such, the building would house a number of small to medium sized lab spaces designed to function as incubator units for biologic start-ups, supported with open plan office spaces, meeting rooms, shared technical facilities together with storage and staff facilities.

The planning committee meeting heard concerns about the building’s appearence and lost car parking spaces as a result of the development.

Dave Coates, the council’s development manager, said: “There is 100 spaces, but the replacement car park to the east of Green Street will more than accommodate what is needed.”

He also said the appearance of the building should be overlooked as it was an “established employment site”.