Durham City Milburngate scheme hits milestone with steel frame completion

Bosses behind a £120 million city centre redevelopment project say they have reached a landmark moment after completing a 3800-tonne structure.

Officials say a giant steel frame that makes up the first phase of the Milburngate scheme, in Durham City, is now finished.

The frame, which includes 40,000 pieces of steel, will eventually house an office building, hotel, cinema, retail and leisure units, as well as the three apartment blocks, with internal fit-out works now underway.

Led by main contractor Tolent, the frame was delivered in conjunction with Newton Aycliffe steel company Finley Structures and structural engineer Atkins.

The development is led by a consortium made up of Arlington Real Estate and Richardson, and Allan Cook, Arlington managing director, said he was delighted the project had hit such a momentous point.

He said: “Erecting 40,000 pieces of steel in this timeframe in a sensitive riverside location such as Milburngate has its challenges, but to achieve this against the backdrop of a worldwide pandemic is testament to the expertise of our construction team and strength of their supply chain.

“This is an important moment in the development of Milburngate, not only as a construction milestone, but also in terms of attracting new occupiers.

Allan Cook, pictured at the Milburngate development

“They can now see first-hand the unique position Milburngate occupies on the riverside and experience the fabulous views we have created of the river and World Heritage site peninsular.

“When they visit Milburngate they can appreciate the important role it will play as a living, working and leisure destination in attracting people to Durham from across the region and beyond.”

Michael Rutherford, Tolent project director, added: “As the majority of the structures on site are now weather tight, we are progressing with internal fit out works of the apartment blocks, hotel and leisure and retail units.

“We recently passed 750,000 hours on site and have a workforce over 300 people, which we continue to manage with health, safety and wellbeing as our number one priority.”