Lingfield Point visit highlights Net Zero potential for older buildings

Lingfield Point visit highlights Net Zero potential for older buildings

Representatives of the Darlington Employers Environmental Partnership (DEEP) visited the town’s Lingfield Point business park for our latest Network and Learn event.

Members learned about the steps being taken to help the historic site reach net zero by 2037.

Seth Pearson, Partnership Director at Darlington Borough Council, welcomed members and spoke of his pride in DEEP’s impressive growth since launching two years ago.

“We now have 61 businesses among our membership, which clearly shows that we’re delivering something useful,” he said.

“Three things have been key: providing meaningful networking and learning opportunities; demonstrating practical ways to reduce a business’s carbon footprint; and sharing the best practice and initiatives being implemented by our members.”

Adam Hall, a director for Tandem property asset management specialists – which began managing the site in 2022 – took members through some of the key strategies for transforming energy profiles of older sites like Lingfield Point.

Following its acquisition by Paton and Baldwin after the Second World War, Lingfield Point became the world’s largest knitting and wool factory, with much of the original architecture surviving today.

The site later became a Rothmans cigarette factory, before being redeveloped as a modern business park in the late 1980s.

Modernising a site with so much history does present challenges, Adam said, but today Lingfield Point is home to a mixture of major organisations and smaller businesses, including Student Loans Company, Magnet Kitchens and several Capita projects.

Chelsea Johnson, Programme Officer at Darlington Cares, said: “I think a lot of companies struggle when occupying older buildings.

“There’s only so much you can easily do to improve them, so it was fascinating to hear how Tandem are addressing these issues at Lingfield Point.”

It is a significant challenge. The site currently uses around 5.5 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy each year, but work is already under way to reduce consumption and improve efficiency.

Between 2024 and 2025, energy usage in the central Lingfield House block fell by 20 per cent, while water consumption was reduced by 32 per cent.

Electric vehicle charging points have also been introduced across the site.

Future plans include installing solar panels across suitable roof space, with the potential to generate up to 500,000kWh of electricity each year.

Tandem also plans to replace some of the site’s older industrial buildings with new construction, while redevelopment projects are being designed to protect, restore and enhance biodiversity across Lingfield Point.

Seth added: “What’s important here is the history of the site and its importance to the town, and how it continues to play a key role in the area’s business landscape.

“Bringing it to a condition where it can be sustainable is absolutely critical. And it’s not just about the site itself – it’s being driven by the sustainability requirements of its potential occupants.

“It’s very much one of the messages that DEEP really emphasises – about how becoming more sustainable makes a real difference for businesses by improving their profitability.”