A new developer has received council backing to progress with plans to build a new distribution centre on a Darlington industrial site. 

It will form part of the new £5m Ingenium Park off Salters Lane, near Cummins and the former Cleveland Bridge factory, which has been described as the town’s premier location for industrial development in the borough. 

Councillors approved the sale of land at the site last October but the deal fell through, with a new proposal now submitted by a different developer. Up to 215 jobs have been outlined for the site. Further details on the site are expected later this year. 

Plans for a new access road are also planned for the site, which is currently empty land. 

A Darlington Council report states: “The developer has an identified end user, and on completion of the building, the leasehold interest will be sold to the occupier; a company that will initially support up to 215 jobs with scope for increases in future and has sustainability as a key priority.

“The developer has a proven track record of delivering the same product elsewhere for the same occupier having just completed one elsewhere in the North of England in 2022. It is proposed that the development will be completed and operational by 2025.”

Ingenium Parc’s master-plan will be spread across three different phases and is expected to create up to 1,000 jobs by 2021. 

Speaking after councillors approved the initial plans at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, cllr Mandy Porter, cabinet member for resources, said: "This is an exciting opportunity to bring more investment and jobs to the borough.”

A planning application for the new development is due to be submitted later this year.