Physical Development
The Physical Development Working Group is responsible for ensuring Partnership investment provides a portfolio of quality sites, buildings and supporting infrastructure for businesses in County Durham. This is done within the context of regional and national policies, which the group has responsibility to discuss, respond, and drive the Partnership’s thinking on. Current policy issues include the Northern Way Growth Strategy, the Lyons Review, the Regional Spatial Strategy, project planning for post-2008 in line with the County's Economic Strategy 2008-2013, reviewing the County's land and premises stock, monitoring developments in line with Local Area Agreement targets and coordinating projects with the County's Local Enterprise Growth Initiative.
The key objectives of the group are:
- Ensure the delivery of appropriate sites and premises.
- Tackle run-down business sites and premises and the over-supply of older property.
- Provide a quality business sites and premises portfolio
- Pursue ‘quality’ as a principle for the County’s business sites and premises.
- Secure essential communications infrastructure.
- Improve the quality of the physical environment.
- Create the physical conditions needed to support a thriving tourism sector.
Major physical development projects include:
- The promotion and development of NETPark as an international technology park for the commercialisation of research.
- The development of the County's broadband network.
- The development of a rail-freight transport interchange at Tursdale.
- Provision of quality industrial and office space for small businesses
- Regeneration of old sites and premises
- Securing private investment
Glenn Martin is the Secretariat contact for physical development within the Partnership and can be contacted on 0191 3835683 or through the
contact us page.
