Developers have announced plans for a £250m expansion at a County Durham employment park which has the potential to create 4,500 new jobs.
The first phase of Integra 61 spans 205 acres and already includes three million square feet of space for development, 90% of which is now complete. Driven forward by Citrus Durham, the park, based at J61 of the A1(M), is also home to Amazon’s huge fulfilment centre as well as a further 640,000 sq ft of speculative logistics space, known as Connect at Integra 61.
Now a second phase of work at the £400m job-creating park has been unveiled, amid plans to create a further three million square feet of new employment space. Plans for the proposed second phase have been unveiled as part of the public consultation process ahead of an outline planning application being submitted to Durham County Council by the end of the year.
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The proposals detail how the £250m investment into the next phase could bring 4,500 new jobs during the construction and operational stages, as well as generate up to £170m of annual economic output for the North East. The existing site would be expanded on land to the west of Integra 61, creating a range of unit sizes in accordance with market demand, to accommodate storage, distribution and manufacturing operations.
The new development would also facilitate the delivery of the Bowburn Development Route (relief road) in conjunction with Durham County Council and the introduction of cycle and pedestrian links.
The roadside portfolio at the park includes Costa and Greggs, along with a new deal for a £4m EG On The Move petrol station, with a convenience store and separate Starbucks drive-thru. Works have also been completed with Tesla to install 19 new superchargers which are now fully operational, and construction is under way on Marton Care’s new 73 bedroom care home facility, in addition to 260 new homes, developed by Persimmon and Bellway.
James Taylor, regional director and group head of planning at Citrus, said: “Integra 61 has proven to be a ground-breaking development for the North East, making a significant contribution to the region’s economy through the creation of thousands of jobs in addition to much-needed new homes, employment space and amenities.
"Due to the success of the first phase, the next logical step is to utilise adjacent land, which has been safeguarded by Durham County Council for employment use, to enable further employment space for businesses to invest and grow in the area.”