Town centre strategy and masterplan
The Local Plan identifies the town centre fringe as a priority for development and regeneration.
- Town centre fringe masterplan [pdf document]
- Darlington town centre regeneration strategy [pdf document]
Development started in 2016.
The fringe includes over 70 hectares of land, buildings and roads, much of which is underused.
The area includes:
- workplaces
- homes
- retail buildings
- leisure facilities
- car parking
Much of the area’s housing is made up of deprived households.
The fringe area has many positives:
- easy to get to by several modes of transport
- close to the town centre
- contains key buildings like the Hippodrome
- includes other heritage assets
- has the River Skerne flowing through
- visible, from local roads and the east coast main line
The River Skerne was also identified as a strategic green infrastructure corridor.
There are significant issues to overcome, such as:
- managing flood risk
- changing the image of the area
- improving defences against contamination and hazard
- improving connectivity across the inner ring road
Work with the HCA and the Tees Valley Combined Authority are ongoing to address funding gaps and ownership issues.
Cabinet papers and management plans
The town centre fringe masterplan was agreed on by cabinet in April 2013.
See item 10 of the 19 April 2013 cabinet paper [pdf document].
The cabinet also agreed a conservation management plan for the town centre fringe: