Aykley Heads funding

April 3, 2026

A cash injection of up to £27 million to kickstart a major regeneration project in Durham has been approved, writes Local Democracy Reporter, Daniel Holland.

North East mayor Kim McGuinness and council leaders agreed a funding boost for the Aykley Heads scheme on Tuesday, under plans to set up a mayoral development zone (MDZ) aimed at speeding up building work in the city.

The plans will see Durham County Council leave its headquarters at County Hall, with the site scheduled to be demolished to make way for a new Aykley Heads Innovation District.

Aykley Heads is described as the “commercial and innovation core” of a new MDZ, promising around 400,000 sq. ft of “high quality” new office space across four phases of redevelopment.

But a report to the North East Combined Authority (NECA) said the project faced “significant abnormal costs”, including remediation and draining issues, and needed public funding to help get it off the ground and attract future private investors.

At a meeting in South Shields, the NECA cabinet agreed to put £12 million worth of mayoral cash to deal with the Aykley Heads scheme’s infrastructure costs.

Up to £15 million more will then be committed to delivering the first phase of the proposed Innovation District.

Andrew Husband, Reform UK’s leader of Durham County Council, said the programme represented a “generational change”.

He called Aykley Heads a “unique, sophisticated” location that could “quickly become an extension of the city”.

Coun Husband said: “It does send a really strong signal to the market and businesses that we are investing to get the site prepared and develop out phase one. But it is more about the wider excitement for the region.

“It complements what we are doing at NETPark and the wider Innovation District zones. It supplements our political agenda too. Durham is very much open for business, so we cannot welcome the news enough.”

Ms McGuinness said the development would create a “vibrant” space for business to start and grow.

County Hall is due to be knocked down next year, with the council relocating to the Rivergreen Centre.