The Newcastle office of White Young Green (WYG), consultant to the built, natural and social environment, has announced its appointment to an exciting new £14million development, for Darlington Farmers Auction Mart (DfAM) which will create 300 new jobs.
Working on behalf of Scottish based developer Linlathen Developments, WYG has been appointed to carry out EIAs (environmental impact assessments) for the proposed relocation of DfAM, from its current site at Clifton Road in the centre of Darlington, to Humbleton Farm on the outskirts of the town on the A68.
The ambitious scheme will not only create a purpose-built state-of-the-art, Agricultural and Equine Centre, but free up a prime site in the centre of Darlington for residential development. WYG has also been appointed to undertake selected environmental studies on a third site totalling 11acres, for Linlathen and DfAM at Neasham Road opposite the football stadium.
WYG's Principal Environmental Scientist, Gaynor Cummins, will co-ordinate a range of studies including ecological and air quality assessments as part of the EIA and production of the Environmental Statement (ES) to accompany the future planning application for the Agricultural and Equine Centre. She said:
"This is an exciting development for White Young Green to become involved and an opportunity to further our established relationship with Linlathen Developments. Traditionally auction marts are centrally located in market towns. However, on mart day, the increased traffic from both sellers and buyers adds to congestion so we are now seeing a trend for relocation. The Cumbria office is carrying out a similar exercise in Wigton in Cumbria.
"White Young Green has similar experience of schemes of this nature having also previously worked on auction mart relocations projects in Wales and the Scottish Borders. On this project, our role will be to assess the environmental impact of the new development works on the local and wider environment. Typically in addition to ecology and air quality assessments this will also include carrying out flood risk and planning assessments and noise monitoring, as well as looking at socio-economic effects."
Linlathen's managing director, Bob Hyslop added:
"DfAM and the Borough Council have been seeking to relocate the mart for some time and this latest phase brings the project a step closer to a becoming reality, marking significant investment supported by potential job creation for the area. In its field, White Young Green has a well earned reputation for its depth of knowledge and resources when providing professional consultancy services relating to environmental and sustainability issues. I am confident the team will provide a high level of service and deliver detailed reports which will aid the progress of the scheme."
It is hoped that once completed the Agricultural and Equine Centre will act as a rural hub attracting thousands of customers and educational visits from local schools, each week. Facilities at the centre will include conference and exhibition space as well as accommodation/units for agricultural based businesses such as seed merchants, wishing to be located at the ultra modern development.