Darlington Borough Council has selected leading property development and investment group Terrace Hill to develop a £30 million leisure centre in Feethams, Darlington.

Last week, Terrace Hill and Darlington Borough Council signed the leisure development deal, which will see the 0.75 hectare former bus depot site redeveloped in to a state-of-the-art leisure complex. Designed by local architects Niven, the Feethams Leisure scheme will be anchored by a nine screen multiplex cinema, and will comprise an 80-bedroom hotel and a number of restaurants and bars making it a hub of leisure activity in the region.

Terrace Hill has secured an agreement with VUE Entertainment to operate the cinema, and is in advanced discussions with Whitbread who want to operate an 80 bedroom Premier Inn hotel and Brewers Fayre family restaurant at Feethams Leisure.

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The property group has already received strong interest from a number of national restaurant and leisure chains. At present, the operators are not represented in the town, with the multi-million pound scheme providing an opportunity to bring their brand to Darlington.

Alongside national organisations, Terrace Hill is also welcoming proposals from independent businesses that wish to be located on the prime space. Featuring both national and independent retailers will allow the group to achieve its aim of offering visitors to Feethams a unique leisure experience.

Duncan McEwan, Head of Retail and Leisure Development commented: "We are delighted to have been selected as the Council’s preferred development partner for this scheme especially given the strength of demand for this site.

"Given our regional office base in Teesside and our successful track record of delivering commercial developments throughout the North East Region, we feel we are well placed to deliver this exciting scheme in Darlington."

(CD)