A HEALTH club operator which has its headquarters in a North-East town has submitted a planning application which could result in 130 jobs.

A spokesman for Bannatyne’s Health Club, which has submitted plans for a four-storey office building in Darlington, however said the submission was only a holding position in the event of further expansion.

The company has proposed to build the building at the site of its gym and headquarters in Haughton Road, Darlington.

The proposed site is behind the existing car park, and on land near to the East Coast Main Line.

It has been vacant since it was used as the Darlington Corporation Bus depot between 1915 and 1991, and was a brickworks in the 19th Century.

The plans include space for 58 additional parking spaces as well as disabled and bicycle bays.

Total floor space would be 2,000sq metres. The plans have suggested the building could be used for up to 130 staff, including a directors’ suite for ten people.

A habitat survey, transport statement, geo-environmental study and noise assessment have been included in the application.

A spokesman for the company said it was a common procedure for businesses to submit similar holding applications.