In a scruffy corner of central Darlington, one of the biggest further education projects in the country is under construction.

This time next year, the new £34.5m Darlington College will be unveiled as the first landmark building on the Central Park development site at the heart of the town.

When completed in about eight years, Central Park will have a hotel, conference centre, homes, offices, a park, playground, doctor's surgery and nursery. The urban regeneration comes at a cost of £170m.

The 75-acre site is being developed by Tees Valley Regeneration, in conjunction with Darlington Borough Council and Shepherd Construction, and should provide 2,000 jobs.

The college will open to students in September next year. Hopes are high that it will boost education by providing brand-new facilities and that it will also attract a record number of students.

The college will include sport facilities, Internet and library access - and those will also be available to workers and customers at Central Park and the wider community. Also available will be services provided by students - including the likes of hair and beauty, childcare, motoring and more.

In turn, their custom should boost opportunities for those studying at the college.

The idea behind the project is that it will be a symbiotic relationship.

Sarah Farley, chief executive and principal of Darlington College, said: "To be able to relocate here has been a tremendous opportunity for the college and the town. We see the college as integral to the Central Park site. Child care, sports, it will all be accessible to people using the site."

The main college foyer has already started to take shape in the corner of Central Park, off Haughton Road, and the footprints of various departmental buildings have been laid out.

When complete, the now-skeletal entrance will be a focal point for the whole college, and will be flooded with natural light and lined with glass.

A bistro restaurant will spill into the foyer, where there will also be a hair and beauty salon, staffed by students and a hi-tech library.

The first parts of the college to be complete will be the childcare centre and sports and leisure buildings, which should be finished by the end of June next year.

Stephen Talboys, project director for Tees Valley Regeneration, is excited about the development.

He said: "The college is a cornerstone of the development at Central Park. Indeed, education will be at the heart of the development.

"The college will create a vibrancy at Central Park from an early stage on a site which has been undeveloped for so long.

"We are delighted that they have been able to join us in making the regeneration of this key site for Darlington become a reality."

Ms Farley said: "I don't want this to feel like a college. I want it to feel like a place that people want to come to because there is something here for them."

She plans to work with employers to develop courses which will meet the regional skills shortages and provide trained workers for local businesses.

It is also hoped that construction students will play some part as Central Park begins to take shape around their college.

The number of childcare places will double from those currently on offer at the college's existing Darlington site.

This means there will be spaces for 150 children, so the public will be able to use the nursery facilities as well as students.

Ms Farley said the decision to build a new college on the site had been made at lightning speed.

"This is one of the biggest projects nationally for further education colleges.

"To think we have done this in Darlington, a town with a population of 100,000, it is pretty unique.

"People can't believe just how fast this has happened."