AN office development that could create more than 400 jobs has attracted strong interest from local employers.

More than a quarter of the office space at the £7.5m Lumley Court development on the Drum Industrial Estate, in Chester-le- Street, is under offer.

The 42,100sq ft office development consists of 17 office buildings, with suites ranging in size from 1,035sq ft to 6,100sq ft - both for sale and lease.

The company behind the scheme, Gladman Developments, expects about 420 jobs to be created once the units are filled.

More than 35 commercial property agents, local dignitaries and potential occupiers recently attended a launch at the site.

Included are a number of small office suites, of about 1,000sq ft, designed to appeal especially to organisations, offering a cost-effective alternative to fully-serviced offices.

The first occupiers are expected to move in next month, once final deals are signed. David Smith, of Gladman Developments, said: "Lumley Court is the first speculative office development on the Drum Industrial Estate, and in the area for many years.

"The initial response has been very good, with more than 25 per cent under offer before completion, which confirms our research, which showed that there was a strong demand for office accommodation in north-west County Durham.

"Lumley Court offers highspecification office space for local businesses looking for expansion space, or footloose businesses looking for a base close to the A1(M)."

Mr Smith added: "Businesses are generally very keen to own offices with their own front door.

Lumley Court will fulfil that.

"Typically, we attract a widerange of occupiers to our developments, from government and other public sector organisations to the fast-growing software, technology and service sectors."

Gladman Developments is the UK's largest developer of speculative office and industrial accommodation.

It invests more than £100m a year building offices and has more than 1,000,000sq ft under construction.