Former Darlington Co-op building on North Road sold

The North Road building - which is positioned at the corner Askrigg Street and was once operated as A1 Motor Stores - was put up for sale last year. 

Agent Parker Barras said the building could “once again make a great convenience store”, with it currently sitting in a shell state awaiting final completion works. 

The site, which boasts a “very prominent” plot along North Road, is spread across two floors and has already seen significant investment, including a re-roofing and new UPVC windows.

The identity of the new owner of the building - or any plans for the future of the site - remain unknown.

As previously reported, the agent said the ground level could be maintained as one large unit or divided into several smaller ones, with separate access to the first floor. 

Meanwhile, another section of the first floor, also accessible from North Road, comes with planning permission for a three-bedroom flat.

The back of the building has a large open yard space suitable for storage, and a separate 800 sq ft garage, although this is on a separate title plan.

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The Art Deco building was first constructed in the early 1930s by the Darlington Co-operative Society, with residents recalling the structure once being home to a grocery, bakers, fishmongers, fruit shop, and butchers. 

Above the shops was a dance school, which is believed to have been based there from the 1940s through to the early 1970s. 

As reported, no one can put a precise date on the closure of the Co-op - but it was believed to have been at the end of the 1970s, before it became Roy Smith Motor Factors.