Plans submitted for £140m business park

Plans for a £140m business park in County Durham have moved forward with the submission of a formal planning application. The development would provide over 1.75 million sq ft of commercial space and create more than 3,000 jobs.Joint venture company Forrest Park Newton Aycliffe, supported by commercial property developer Richardson Barberry, has applied to Durham County Council for outline planning consent for the expansion of Aycliffe Business Park on the 116-acre Forrest Park site, located on Junction 59 of the A1.The proposal includes a range of business, industrial and distribution units varying in size from 30,000 sq ft to 500,000 sq ft, a trade park comprising 11 units from 5,000 sq ft to 10,000 sq ft, and ancillary amenity uses including roadside food offerings, a public house and a restaurant. There is also the potential to accommodate a rail freight interchange.Forrest Park, which has already attracted £13m in funding from the local enterprise partnership, could provide a £495m boost to the regional economy over the next decade, while creating an estimated 3,200 jobs.