Major civil engineering project enables progress on landmark Milburngate development

Progress continues on the £120 million Milburngate development in Durham as a sophisticated three-storey retaining wall has been completed.

Measuring 236 metres, construction of the wall has taken ten months, using around 20,000 cubic metres of concrete and requiring one of the largest piling rigs in the UK.

Its completion is a crucial part of the development that enable the various elements of the working, living and leisure destination to take shape.

Gateshead-based contractor Tolent worked through the pandemic to complete around 60 per cent of the concrete super structure, which will provide the primary support for the three, seven-story apartment blocks that will ne be constructed.

With the structural steel frame of the 92-bed Premier Inn hotel almost complete, this week (June 4) also sees the arrival of the second of three tower cranes on site.

Milburngate is being developed as a joint venture partnership between Arlington Real Estate and Richardson, supported by a £120 million forward funding commitment from LaSalle Investment Management.

Phase one of the development will feature a mix of premium leisure operators, such as Everyman Cinema and Miller & Carter, along with 153 built-to-rent apartments, a high specification office building, One Milburngate, and the Premier Inn hotel.

Allan Cook, managing director of Arlington Real Estate, said: “We are really pleased with the progress we are making at Milburngate and this significant civil engineering project will be a catalyst for the next stage of the development of phase one.

“Developing a site of this scale next to a river in a historic city brings a range of challenges and we have been impressed with the innovation and expertise of Tolent and its supply chain to successfully deliver this major part of the construction of Milburngate.”

Andy McLeod, CEO for Tolent, added: “Our foundations are in the civil engineering sector and our teams continue to deliver exceptional standards of work now, as they have for some forty years.

“Working collaboratively with our client and supply chain partners Billinghurst George & Partners and Volker Ground Engineering, we created an innovative solution to deliver the retaining wall as you see it today – something that was initially deemed unachievable. A great achievement for all involved.”