Race against time for 'unrecognisable' historic building - but council 'unable to acquire takeaways'

Efforts are underway in Darlington to restore Edward Pease House, a historic building with ties to the area's railway history, but it seems a race is on to complete the project before bicentenary celebrations hit next year.

The property was set to receive a £3.5m government injection via the Towns Fund programme and be transformed into a multi-use asset. Presently, the Northgate building is showing the wear and tear of years of neglect, experiencing numerous alterations over time leaving the Georgian structure barely recognisable.

This currently houses a barber shop, pizza and kebab places underneath. Darlington Borough Council had planned to purchase all four properties comprising Edward Pease House in anticipation of the Stockton and Darlington Railway's bicentenary in 2025.

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But as reportedly heard at a recent meeting, thus far, only one property of the historical complex has been acquired by the council. Around £3m from the initially intended funding has now been shifted towards refurbishing Priestgate's former Northern Echo building, which is set to feature an adult skills hub and commercial office rentals.

Chris Mains, the Council's Towns Fund Programme Manager, spoke about these developments at an economy and resources scrutiny meeting last Thursday, stating that the pared-down scheme is "almost ready" to hit the planning stage. A report is currently being developed to assess the feasibility of options for the entire Edward Pease House.

The local authority has previously stated that Darlington's railway heritage would be "incomplete without recognition and the intervention of sympathetic property refurbishment". "Celebrating our rich heritage is a key part of our long-term Town Centre Plan and Edward Pease House in Northgate is part of the Darlington Towns Fund programme," a council spokeswoman explained.

"The historic house is currently sub-divided into a number of separate properties. The council has acquired one property and, whilst it remains a long-held ambition to progress the full scheme, we have been unable at this stage to acquire the remaining ones.

"The Towns Fund Board, with Government approval, intends to develop the one property the council owns within the overall house to showcase part of this heritage asset utilising the allocated budget."

The property holds significant historical value as it was the site of a well-documented meeting between Edward Pease and George Stephenson on 19 April 1821. This meeting, which took place in the kitchen of Pease's Northgate home, led to the construction of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, the world's first public passenger railway.

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