DEEP members get inside track on railway attraction’s sustainability

MEMBERS of a business partnership aimed at sharing good practice around net zero targets have been given a “fascinating” insight into the sustainability of a historic railway attraction.

The latest ‘network and learn’ event for members of the Darlington Employers Environmental Partnership (DEEP) took place at Hopetown today, with nearly 30 business organisations represented.

Hopetown opened as the North East’s newest major visitor attraction last summer following a £35m renovation project to restore the historic site ahead of the bicentenary celebrations of the Stockton & Darlington Railway this year.

The DEEP meeting at featured a presentation by Wilmott Dixon, the developers behind the award-winning five-year project, with project manager, Glyn Jones, and pre-construction project manager, Tiernan Hawley, explaining how sustainability was embedded into the development.

They spoke of the challenges of transforming a collection of historic old buildings into a modern, energy-efficient visitor attraction that is attracting global attention.

“This was a challenging project but a great opportunity to bring these historic buildings back to life. The buildings were very inefficient, and we had to focus the effort, investment and design on making them as efficient as we possibly could,” said Tiernan.

“The journey was an eye-opener for everyone involved, but we are extremely proud of what has been delivered.

“The local authority was really brave, ambitious and proactive in investing in the town’s heritage and creating a world-class legacy that has put Darlington on the map in a way that is world news.”

Glyn praised the formation of DEEP, saying it was “great to see so many people attending, with real dynamism in the room”.

Measures incorporated into the Hopetown development include: reducing energy demand with the replacement of 40-year-old boilers; work towards eliminating fossil fuels; the installation of air-source heat pumps; maximising on-site renewable energy; and replacing old lighting with LED.

Seth Pearson, Director of Darlington Cares, which oversees DEEP, told the meeting that the partnership was growing rapidly, adding: “The latest network and learn event gave members a fascinating insight into the importance placed on sustainability during the development of our own world-class visitor attraction.”

Organisations attending the Hopetown meeting were: Darlington Borough Council; Aldi; BHP Law; Cummins; Darlington Memorial Hospital; Woodlands Hospital; Clive Owen chartered accountants; Serco; Durham PCC; Darlington Cares; Darlington College; Latimer Hinks; Tica; Darlington Business Club; Resilient Systems; Barron Media; TEP Electrical Distributors; CES Group; Arthur Wharton Foundation.

DEEP’s first marketplace event takes place at the Dolphin Centre on February 21, giving local businesses and other organisations the opportunity to showcase products and initiatives supporting the drive towards net zero.