THE first details of what could become one of the region’s biggest development projects in years, costing up to £150m, were revealed today (Tuesday, February 24).

The consortium that has bought Milburngate House, a key riverside site in the heart of Durham City, wants to demolish the nine-floored 1960s office block and create a “mixed use” development.

That could include 450,000sq ft of space, split equally between offices, leisure facilities and housing.

Arlington Real Estate, Carillion and Richardsons Capital LLP are calling it a once-in-a-generation opportunity to regenerate what is a highly sought-after location.

The offices, at the Radisson Hotel end of the 5.3-acre site, could accommodate about 1,500 workers; the leisure sector, near Milburngate Bridge, could include quality shops, restaurants, a cinema or a hotel; and the residential quarter, towards Framwelgate Peth, could comprise up to 200 luxury apartments.

Plans exhibited to the public at the Radisson today (Tuesday, February 24) also suggested 450 basement car parking spaces and a new footbridge over the River Wear linking the site to Freeman’s Reach, the £27m office development currently under construction and being led by the same consortium.

It has been strongly rumoured Durham County Council could relocate its headquarters onto the site, allowing the 1960s-built County Hall at Aykley Heads to make way for a business hub,

Allan Cook, managing director of Arlington Real Estate, said: “Nothing would please me more. I would be delighted to bid for it.”

But he added: “This is a huge opportunity for a mixed use development.

“We’ve no hard and fast ideas and we’re genuinely interested in people’s views.”

The consortium has decided it wants to demolish Milburngate House, currently home to 1,400 Passport and National Savings and Investments (NS&I) workers who are being moved across the river to Freeman’s Reach ¬– formerly home to the legendary Durham Wasps ice hockey team.

Permission to demolish will be sought from the council next month and could begin later this year.

The whole project, which is being funded by the consortium, however, could take five to eight years or more to complete.

Much to locals’ relief, it is highly unlikely to include student accommodation.

Nigel Martin, formerly the local councillor for the area, said he hoped the development could mirror that at Saltaire, in West Yorkshire, with a visitor attraction, shops, restaurants and businesses.

“If they do something as good as that on the other side of the river, and something which adds quality to the city centre, that would be good for Durham,” he added.

For more information, visit durhamriversiderenewal.co.uk