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Tyneside construction firm Tolent has been appointed to its third significant project in the North East after being selected to deliver the Milburngate scheme in Durham City.

The Gateshead firm will begin construction in the coming weeks after being appointed by the Arlington Richardson Development Partnership.

The contract to deliver the first phase of the six-acre riverside site comes after Arlington secured £120m in funding. The development will include premises for a number of national leisure operators including boutique cinema company Everyman, restaurant brands Pitcher & Piano, Bar + Block, Miller and Carter and a 92-bed flagship Premier Inn hotel.

Tolent will also build 5,000 square metres of speculative offices, creating capacity for more than 400 new jobs, as well as 153 built-to-rent apartments.

The scheme comes as Tolent - which this week issued accounts showing a turnover of £134m - is also involved in the Vaux regeneration site in Sunderland and the building of Hadrian's Tower in Newcastle.

Milburngate project manager Ian Beaumont said: "Tolent shares our enthusiasm for Durham City and our commitment to delivering a regionally-significant development.

"We undertook a very detailed and comprehensive selection process to ensure we have a contractor that is able to transform this unique riverside location into the vision we have for Milburngate.  We are very pleased to have chosen Tolent and look forward to working closely with them as they begin construction in the next few weeks.”

Andy McLeod, CEO for Tolent, said: "This project is one of the most significant wins in the history of our business, and is testament to the skills, expertise and growth of our team not only in the region, but across the º£½ÇÊÓƵ.