TO work at Paton and Baldwins, Darlington's old wool mill, in the 1950s and 60s was to be part of a thriving social scene.

The massive Beehive Ballroom held regular dances for workers, and generations of the same family all worked at the factory.

Patons was Europe's biggest wool manufacturer and amalgamated its UK operations on the site in 1947.

The factory closed and the estate fell into receivership in 1998 before it was bought by the Marchday Group.

Marchday - which has already transformed parts of the site into office space, with 1,500 people working at the renamed Lingfield Point - is drawing up a plan for the future.

The planning is still in its embryonic stage but there are visions of a hotel, homes and leisure facilities for the thousands of people who work there. Jogging tracks, yoga in the grounds and a crche could all be in the pipeline.

Over the last few years, Marchday - which developed Centre North-East in Middlesbrough - has invested millions to develop the complex into a modern business park, converting it gradually into offices and warehouse space.

Lingfield Point is a 110-acre site off Neasham Road, one of the main routes into Darlington.

The old buildings still stand in their former glory but, instead of offices housing wool managers and chief engineers, they house dozens of thriving small businesses and branch offices of larger businesses.

The major employer on the site is Capita, the company which administers the London congestion charge among other outsourced services. It employs between 500 and 600 people at Lingfield.

Other employers on site include Four Seasons, which is one of the biggest care home operators in the country, and Coats Crafts - a descendant of Paton and Baldwins.

The development at Lingfield Point is one of a string of new office spaces springing up around Darlington, which is becoming more popular for commercial property.

Close by is Morton Palms, which will house the offices of one of Darlington's oldest companies, Whessoe Oil and Gas, and Central Park, close to the station, which will house offices, a hotel, and the college.

But Marchday prefers not to see these other large-scale office developments as rivals.

Sara Williams, marketing manager, said: "Central Park is brilliant. In our eyes, the more developments we have taking place in Darlington and the more of a destination it becomes, the better it is for us.

"We have worked with Morton Palms and the borough council in trying to promote the whole town as a good place to relocate.

"We also offer something different to the others.

"I think all the sites have their own strengths and it means that a company has a few options in Darlington, and with the amount of space on offer, there is more chance of finding the space you need.

"We don't see ourselves as a competitor to these developments, we see ourselves as part of a bigger jigsaw."

Darlington Borough Council has teamed up with the developers in the town and Tees Valley Regeneration to promote it as the gateway to the Tees Valley.

Ms Williams said: "To anyone that is coming to Darlington for the first time, they are always surprised at what it offers.

"There are excellent transport links, employment advantages, and the business community generally is supportive.

"There are very few other towns that can offer those sort of transport links - with the airport so close and London just over two hours away on the train down the East Coast mainline - as well as the convenience and lifestyle of Darlington.

"There is immediate access to the A66 from here, and the A1 is just ten minutes away.

"I think that, over the last few months, people from around the country have been realising that Darlington is a good option for office space.

"Year on year, it has been classed as a hotspot from a housing perspective, and I can see it turning into that from a commercial property perspective too.

"It is more affordable than Newcastle and the traffic flow is much better than on Tyneside, as well as other transport links."

Although the attractions of Darlington have brought in companies like Capita and Four Seasons, as well as the NHS to office space at Lingfield Point, many of the companies housed there are growing small businesses.

Lingfield House - a majestic 1940s building with sweeping staircases - has been remodelled from the offices of the wool chiefs into modern spaces for small businesses.

The Beehive Ballroom, which once hosted dances for thousands of people in the 1950s, has been separated into studio offices for local businesses which are past the start-up stage and starting to grow.

And Lingfield's next £5m development - known as Memphis - is expected to bring another 1,000 jobs to Darlington.

John Orchard, a director of developers Marchday, is involved in drawing up the plans for the future of Lingfield Point.

He is clear that the development will take as long as it needs to and Marchday is careful to make sure its development fits in exactly with what businesses need.

The master plan is being discussed with the borough council and other interested parties.

Mr Orchard said: "We can't give too much away at the moment because it is a bit sensitive until it has been discussed with everyone.

"We are making out this scheme not only for the grand master plan, but we are also incorporating the old British American Tobacco site.

"The scope has changed slightly because we have to look at the BAT site as well now."

Mr Orchard envisages some new office space and some space for companies specialising in low grade technology - because some of the former factory space is unsuitable for offices.

He said that leisure, homes and offices were the most likely uses for the future at the site.

"It's very early stages of discussion through," he added.

"The timescale for producing a masterplan is a year, 18 months, before we have finished it and are able to put in a planning application.

"But if we get this right, it will be a nationally-recognised flagship scheme.

"I think people are tired of reading about companies closing down and moving out of the area. We hope we can provide people with some good news."