Work on former Northern Echo offices unveils hidden features

The former Northern Echo building, vacated by the newspaper in January 2023 after it was sold to Darlington Council, is set to be converted into office space and an adult learning facility.

Echo staff have long been aware of the building’s interesting past, but work on the site has uncovered entombed staircases, lost rooms and unmarked basements.

One of the former archive rooms in the process of being stripped out before The Northern Echo left the building. (Image: SARAH CALECOTT)

Read more: Plans to convert former Echo HQ to office space

The building is currently in a poor state with work being carried out to remove asbestos, which has also found features including ornate art deco columns and decorative lights.

An old metal staircase found in the building. (Image: SARAH CALECOTT)

The four-storey building is in the process of being converted into an adult skills hub on the ground floor, and office space on the first, second and third floors.

Rooms including the Echo’s old archives, a cafeteria named ‘Steads’ after former editor William Stead who died on the Titanic, and a dark room once used by photographers developing their snaps will be stripped out as part of the works.

'Steads' the former canteen for Northern Echo staff. (Image: SARAH CALECOTT)

Footpaths surrounding the building will be closed until September 2025 while work takes place.

Darlington Council has said the works will “draw upon the building’s rich history”, which also includes a memorial to local soldiers killed in the First World War and original glasswork including the naming of sister title the Darlington and Stockton Times.

It is thought the adult skills hub could open as soon as September 2025.

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Mark Black, chief exec of workspace firm Adavo, said: "The Northern Echo building is a fabulous setting, with an interesting history and great local connections.

"We are excited to have the opportunity to redevelop the space to accommodate the changing needs and demands of modern businesses; helping to bring more, better quality jobs to the area and supporting the ongoing training and development of local talent.

“We have a great design planned which will support, inspire and motivate learners, businesses and visitors, and which celebrates and preserves the buildings heritage; with our sustainability ambitions reflecting the ethos of William Stead, a Victorian editor of the paper who used it as a platform to tackle political and social causes.”