£2.5m office scheme unveiled at Lingfield Point

Hundreds of jobs could be created within the Tees Valley over the next 12 months following the launch of a £2.5m office scheme at Lingfield Point.

Baldwin is the latest phase to open at the 86-acre business park in Darlington and offers more than 26,000 sq. ft. of redeveloped office accommodation within a single floor, on the site of a former industrial warehouse.

The self-contained facility, which provides secure onsite parking and easy access to nearby amenities, is being targeted at office occupiers within the region and beyond who are looking to invest in high quality workspace to accommodate expansion and new working practices.

Site owner Frogmore and asset manager Mottisfont Capital estimate that up to 300 jobs could be created when a new occupant such as a contact centre or public sector organisation takes up occupation and starts to roll out their operations at Lingfield Point.

Providing over 1.3 million sq.ft. of commercial floorspace, Lingfield Point is already home to a number of large-scale private sector organisations and Government departments including DWP, NHS, Student Loans Company, Capita and Wood Group.

With its eye-catching design and industrial heritage, joint letting agents Knight Frank and Cushman & Wakefield are anticipating strong interest in Baldwin following its official launch yesterday to commercial property agents from the North East and Yorkshire.

Peter Gibson, MP for Darlington who attended the event to inspect the new multimillion-pound facility, said: “It was good to visit the impressive Baldwin site. It is a fantastic expansive space and I look forward to welcoming whoever occupies the premises to Darlington.

“As we see investment in the town grow, Darlington is becoming an attractive proposition for larger organisations when considering relocation, creating more job opportunities in our region.”

New insulation to the roof and walls along with a host of other environmental measures has led to a significant improvement in the energy performance rating for the office space. The project also included the formation of external well-being spaces such as the installation of two outdoor meeting pods.

Patrick Matheson, partner at Knight Frank, said: “The launch of Baldwin in the wake of the pandemic is a milestone, and it was great to see so many property agents at the event to see what’s on offer. The Government’s recent announcement that hundreds of public sector roles within the Treasury and Department for International Trade will be relocated from London to Darlington is a fantastic opportunity for the area and the availability of prime office accommodation which is ready for occupation, is of prime importance.”

Greg Davison, partner at Cushman & Wakefield added: “Baldwin provides a 26,000 sq.ft. single floor solution which is unique within Tees Valley. The Covid-19 pandemic has prompted many organisations to reassess their working practices and how they use their office space. Efficient floorspace of the quality available at Baldwin provides such organisations with substantial flexibility to help them create the optimum working environment.

“As part of this trend we also expect to see more examples of ‘north-shoring’ and ‘re-shoring’ as organisations look for more cost-effective solutions, so the launch of Baldwin is well timed to try and secure new job opportunities for Darlington and Tees Valley.”