Durham council blamed for delays to Milburngate site

Durham County Council announced plans on Wednesday to acquire Milburngate in Durham City and end years of uncertainty around the site’s future. 

The development is built on the site of the former Passport and National Savings and Investment offices and was scheduled to open by the end of 2022 in the heart of Durham City, but has run into several issues. National brands such as Brewdog, Premier Inn and Everyman Cinema have been forced to wait before opening their doors to the public. 

County Durham Labour blamed the current administration in charge of the council for the delays and criticised its management of the site. 

Durham County Council announced plans on Wednesday to acquire Milburngate in Durham City and end years of uncertainty around the site’s future. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Councillor Carl Marshall, party leader, said: “When Labour lost Durham County Council to the coalition almost four years ago, we handed over a positively progressing, prime city centre development project with investors and tenants lined up and signed up. 

“An empty Milburngate now stands as a shameful monument to the complacency and failures of the Tories, Lib Dems and Independents running this authority.

“Of course, Labour is pleased at the prospect of progress on this important site, and it will come as a huge relief to the frustrated businesses that invested fortunes in acquiring space at Milburngate, only to be forced to sit on their hands for more than two years. 

“But why couldn’t this have been secured sooner? Why has this report taken so long to produce? And what opportunities have been lost during the glacial-paced decision-making of this coalition of chaos?”

Frustrated over the repeated delays, Brewdog said it invested more than £1 million into its site at the development but criticised the “never-ending bureaucratic red tape”. 

The Brewdog site has been unable to open due to issues beyond its control (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Councillors will be asked to agree to proceed with negotiations to buy the freehold next week.

The local authority said it will work with tenants and other stakeholders to ensure the development is fully completed and open to the public “as soon as practicable”.

The acquisition and future development of the site are estimated to cost around £55 million and will be self-financed. 

Cllr Marshall said a Labour administration will ensure Milburngate is open for business if it gains control of the council in May. 

He added: “These councillors hung a ‘closed for business’ sign on County Durham four years ago and are now panicking because their lack of progress is being called out in an election year.”

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But Council Leader Amanda Hopgood, speaking on behalf of the Joint Administration, disputed the claim County Durham is closed for business and accused Labour of “ignoring the facts”. 

The Liberal Democrat councillor added: “The situation that emerged at Milburngate was a result of one of many disastrous actions taken by Labour when running the council. It is down to the inept so-called leadership of Cllr Marshall that Milburngate currently stands empty.

“The Joint Administration of Durham County Council does not, and never will, play fast and loose with taxpayers’ money. We have worked diligently and scrupulously with officers and external organisations to find a way forward that will allow the Milburngate development to proceed in a sustainable way that does not burden the residents of County Durham with a huge and ever-increasing bill.”

Meanwhile, City of Durham MP Mary Kelly Foy questioned how the council can afford the scheme. 

The Labour MP said: “The empty Milburngate development has been a blight on the city for far too long, and so I would welcome a move to try and restart work on the stalled site.

“This is a key area right in the heart of the city with the potential to have a significant positive impact on the local economy, and it is appalling that it has been allowed to stand empty as long as it has.

“I find it puzzling however that, only a few months after warning that the council’s financial position was getting worse, the local authority has begun negotiations to buy the freehold of this site.

“Given that residents in the county are braced for another significant council tax rise, it’s vital that the leadership at Durham County Council let the public know why they are moving to buy the leasehold site now, how much they have ring fenced for this site, and how they intend to not only bring the existing buildings into use, but to finish the site off.”