It will seem very strange for The Northern Echo to leave Priestgate, which has been the paper's home since the first copy was published on January 1 1870.

Great editors such as William Stead and Harold Evans have guided the paper from the Darlington town centre street. Great stories and inspiring campaigns - too many to remember - have taken root in the famous old building.

But sooner rather than later, The Northern Echo will need to find a new home because the paper's offices have been sold to become part of an expanded Cornmill shopping centre.

The best guess is that Debenhams will move in and, if that happens, it will be great news for the town centre.

Does the prospect of moving out make me feel sad? Of course it does. It is a building full of history, romance and memories and it is fair to say I have spent as many hours in it since I arrived in 1984 as I have at home.

Priestgate has been an enormous part of my life.

But it is also a building which is no longer fit for purpose for a modern newspaper business.

The printing press came to the end of its life more than 20 years ago, leaving a gaping shell where it used to noisily hammer out editions.

And with staff being lost over the decades due to the advance of modern technology, the building is simply too big, old and inefficient for what we need today.

What is vital for The Northern Echo - and for Darlington - is to underline the message that the paper is not leaving the town it has served for nearly one and a half centuries.

It is true that there is a current proposal to move the production of the company's weekly sister papers - the Darlington & Stockton Times, the Durham Times and the Advertiser Series - to Bradford.

If that proposal goes ahead, it will sadly lead to the loss of nine jobs.

These are the the most challenging times I can remember for local newspapers. The world of news and advertising is moving so fast that we have to move with it or die.

But the majority of jobs, including the reporters, photographers, and commercial staff, will remain in the heart of Darlington at a new, more suitable site yet to be confirmed.

The Northern Echo's future is away from Priestgate - but rest assured the paper will not be leaving Darlington.