ONE of the main routes into Darlington town centre will be transformed over the next decade into a hotel, conference and business complex.

A £30m Darlington College of Technology building in Haughton Road will be the first part of the development which has already been hailed as a flagship project for the Tees Valley Partnership.

As well as the college, there are plans for a business park, a hotel and conference centre near to the railway station.

There is also the possibility that housing will be built on the site.

The site is being prepared for investment by Darlington Borough Council and the Tees Valley Regeneration Company (TVRC), which will make the area accessible for building work to begin.

Joe Docherty, chief executive of TVRC, said: "It will provide major investment opportunities, not just for Darlington, but for the whole of the Tees Valley."

Regional development agency One NorthEast has given £13m to Darlington Borough Council to fund a year-long investigation into the site, including decontamination and feasibility studies.

The development will increase the importance of Haughton Road to the town as new businesses are attracted to the area.

The borough council plans road improvements to cope with extra traffic. A new road may also link the site with the railway station.

It is hoped the college's learning park - the biggest single investment in post-16 education in Darlington - will also attract more students to the town to take a wider range of courses.

There are plans for a young people's centre for 14 to 19-year-olds, a university centre working with the University of Teesside and Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, a health and childcare centre and media complex.

College principal Sarah Farley believes it is an astute move.

She said: "Any work on the current site would have to be in phases - turning the college into a building site for nine years.

"Improving our current (Cleveland Avenue) site would cost up to £25m and would have various restrictions placed on it, whereas we are spending £30m to get exactly what we want on Haughton Road."

The original plan involved moving the campus to the Torrington site in Yarm Road, but that scheme fell through.

The Cleveland Avenue site will be sold for housing and the college is working on a business plan to be submitted to the Learning and Skills Council in the hope of a grant.