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Construction of new County Durham cultural venue complete

Ben Kelsey, senior projects and performance manager at Durham County Council; Cllr Karen Allison, the council’s Cabinet member for leisure, tourism, regeneration and high street; Cllr Joe Quinn, Cabinet member for planning, investments and assets; and Ian Lamming, senior pre-construction manager at Willmott Dixon, pictured inside The Light.

Work to create a new cultural venue and tourist attraction in Durham City has reached an important milestone, with the main construction phase now complete. 

Set to open this summer, The Light represents a major investment in creativity, culture and community. It will bring together art, history and science in exciting ways, providing a welcoming and engaging space where visitors will experience internationally significant exhibitions, created in partnership with leading national and global institutions. A Durham County Council venue, it will be a place for creativity and innovation to thrive, communities to gather, and artists to collaborate.

This week, the building, which was once home to the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) Museum and Durham Art Gallery, was handed back to the council, following its transformation into a multipurpose cultural space.

Over the last two years, construction firm Willmott Dixon has undertaken significant works to the original building, which has been stripped down to its basic structure and almost completely rebuilt. As a result, the venue is now capable of staging world class exhibitions.

Its links to military history, meanwhile, will be retained through a dedicated DLI gallery telling the story of the ‘Durhams’ through objects, documents and film footage from the DLI Collection.

Cllr Karen Allison, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for leisure, tourism, regeneration and high street, said: “It’s been fantastic to witness the transformation of this building into a venue that will not only provide enriching experiences for our residents, but will attract tens of thousands of visitors each year, strengthening the county’s tourism offer and boosting our economy.

“With construction now complete, we can begin to kit out the building’s interior. This will include establishing a permanent DLI gallery to help bring our region’s proud military history to new audiences.

“We will also be installing our first temporary exhibition, which will be the first of many showcasing world class creativity from the North East, the UK, and across the globe. Light art will play a prominent role, inspired by County Durham’s deep-rooted connection to light – from the creation of Bede’s lunar calendar 1,300 years ago and Joseph Swan’s pioneering lightbulb, to Durham University’s involvement in the James Webb Space Telescope. We are excited that we will be able to share more details about this landmark exhibition soon.”

More than just an exhibition space, The Light has also been designed to include facilities for hosting private events and conferences. A ground floor café, meanwhile, will provide a place for visitors and passers-by to stop for refreshments. Set within beautiful natural grounds, The Light also offers outdoor space for visitors to explore, play and enjoy, alongside quieter areas designed for reflection.

The Light’s location, at the heart of Aykley Heads, will also make the venue an anchor institution of Durham’s Innovation District. Acting as a meeting place and a creative hub, it will support the game-changing ambitions of the new district and play a key part in the sustainable growth of the site.

And, as a sister venue to The Story, which provides the permanent home to the DLI Collection, it will work alongside attractions across the county to support a visitor offer that celebrates County Durham’s heritage and highlights its ambition.

The Light will employ around 18 members of staff, along with opportunities throughout the year for placements, residence schemes, volunteering and fixed term paid employment.

Find out about career opportunities at The Light.

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Durham Champions come together at Auckland Tower

Four Durham Champions stood in a room

Our Durham Story continues to gain momentum as partners from across the county gathered for the fourth Durham Champions meeting at Auckland Tower. 

The event, which took place on Wednesday, 29 April, brought together ambassadors committed to sharing the Durham Story, in an exciting new ‘Team Durham’ approach to raising the county’s profile and appeal with key audiences for economic success.  

A key focus of the event was some of the exciting developments and projects taking place across the county, hearing first-hand from speakers who are leading them, and and sharing insight into their work and how collaboration is key to driving success across the county.  

Lisa Mullen, Interim Cluster Manager at Space North East England, opened the session by highlighting the region’s rapidly growing space sector. Based at NETPark, a leading science park based at Sedgefield, the initiative is bringing together businesses, academia and institutions to drive innovation and collaboration. Lisa’s presentation demonstrated how the county is playing a key role in the UK’s space ambitions, creating high-value jobs and positioning the region as a centre for cutting-edge research and development.  

Next, Michelle Gorman, Managing Director at Visit County Durham, shared insight into the strength and evolution of the county’s visitor economy. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Visit County Durham continues to lead on destination management and is recognised as one of the first Local Visitor Economy Partnerships accredited by VisitEngland. Her update highlighted the importance of partnership working, strong storytelling and strategic promotion, which has resulted in the value of the county’s visitor economy doubling since the inception of Visit County Durham in 2006.  

The final speaker, Anna Warnecke, Chief Executive Officer at 11Arches, inspired attendees with an update on the future of cultural attractions in Bishop Auckland. Having played a key role in the success of Kynren, Anna shared an update on Kynren: The Storied Lands, a bold and ambitious new day park set to be unlike anything else in the UK. Her presentation reinforced the role of culture-led regeneration and communities in transforming places and driving long-term economic impact.  

Shaun Hope, Principal & Chief Executive of Bishop Auckland college hosted the event and said: What really stands out from today’s meeting is the passion people have for the county. From space innovation at NETPark to world-class culture in Bishop Auckland, there’s so much happening here and when we come together as Durham Champions, we can amplify that story even further. It’s all about collaboration – working together for the prosperity of the place, which in turn will create further opportunities for our residents and young people, and build pride in the place they call home.” The Durham Champions programme places people at its heart, empowering stakeholders from across sectors to become advocates for the county. As the session closed, attendees were encouraged to continue spreading the word, using #OurDurhamStory on social channels, to help further build the county’s image, identity and reputation as a great place to live, work, invest, visit and study.  

The next Durham Champions meeting will take place in July, with further details to be announced soon.  

Register as a Durham Champion and sign up for the Durham Story e-newsletter.

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County continues partnership with Durham’s first professional women’s cricket team

Durham Women's Cricket Team

Showcasing our shared passion and determination, a successful partnership between the county and Durham’s first professional women’s cricket team continues in 2026.

As part of this ongoing collaboration, the county’s new place brand, ‘Our Durham Story’, will work in partnership with the team to raise the profile of the county, while championing equality, opportunity and ambition across the county.

The partnership reflects a shared vision to promote Durham as a vibrant and welcoming county, using the power of sport to connect with new audiences and raise Durham’s profile as a great place to live, work, invest, visit and study. Through matchday visibility, digital activity and wider storytelling, the collaboration showcases the county on a national and international stage.

As the partnership continues into 2026, Visit County Durham and Durham Cricket will work together to celebrate the growth of the women’s game and shine a spotlight on the county as a leading destination for sport, culture and unforgettable experiences.

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Business growth fund generates £40m

A group of people at Magnitude Biosciences

A fund designed to increase business growth in County Durham has attracted £40 million of investment in less than a decade.

Durham County Council’s Cabinet will be given an update on the Finance Durham Fund (FDF) which provides loans to help the growth of county-based businesses and attract new companies to the region.

First launched in 2017, and administered by Maven Capital Partners on behalf of the council, the evergreen fund uses the returns on investments to re-invest into other businesses to support economic growth in the county.

In an update to Cabinet, councillors will hear that there have been 58 investments into 38 companies, totalling £17.29 million, since the fund was first launched.

This £17.29 million has levered an additional £40 million of investment, supporting nearly 1,500 jobs with a Gross Value Added (GVA) impact of £44 million.

In addition to business loans, the fund also provides ‘access to finance’ business support, helping businesses increase their capabilities and skills to grow and thrive.

Cllr Joe Quinn, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for planning, investment and assets, said: “The impact that the Finance Durham Fund has facilitated in just a few years demonstrates the value that the fund brings to the county’s economy.

“At a time when public funding for business support grants is likely to be in shorter supply, the Finance Durham Fund will play an even more important role in supporting the growth of our county’s enterprises. It also provides a key investment incentive that sets us apart from other competitor locations, helping to attract more companies to the area.”

Councillors will be told that the fund has played an important role in developing the county’s economy by investing in sectors that are at the forefront of innovation.

Examples include Power Roll Ltd, which produces a low cost, low weight solar film; Dyer Engineering, which is the largest independently owned engineering company in the county; Pragmatic Semiconductor, which opened the UK’s first 300mm semiconductor fabrication site in Meadowfield; and NETPark companies Magnitude Biosciences and PervasID.

Despite a challenging environment for businesses and global economic uncertainty in recent years, enquiries for the fund remain strong.

Councillors will hear the fund has £3.7 million ready to award to businesses, with several potential deals totalling over £2 million currently under consideration.

Cabinet will be given a full update on the fund and be asked to agree to receiving an annual update when it meets on Wednesday 22 April.

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Leading technology firm announces NETPark expansion

Pictured, from left to right, are Torquil Gundlach, SEEDS' Argonaut Programme head; Peter Chalder-Wood, SEEDS' head of strategic partnerships; Sara Williams, NETPark manager; Councillor Joe Quinn; and Christian Pape, Business Durham property director

A pioneering technology company at one of the region’s leading science parks has announced a major expansion.

Engineered graphene technology firm SEEDS will be moving into a new dedicated facility at NETPark, as part of Durham County Council’s £100 million expansion of the site.

Taking on the new unit will enable SEEDS to move from research development to commercial production, positioning the company to supply its advanced graphene technology to major international manufacturers across the global aerospace, energy, semiconductors, and automotive sectors.

The growth of industry-leading science and technology companies like SEEDS has been enabled by the expansion of NETPark, which now offers an increased capacity of more than 285,000 square feet of flexible, high-specification laboratory and advanced manufacturing space.

With the expanded site now fully operational, it is expected to create 1,250 skilled jobs on site and contribute £625 million to the local economy over the next decade.

Cllr Joe Quinn, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for planning, investment and assets, said: “SEEDS’ expansion at NETPark reflects the critical role County Durham plays in the UK’s advanced manufacturing landscape. We have outstanding, state-of-the-art space for laboratories and manufacturing facilities, ready now and unique in the North East.

“We are delighted to support SEEDS’ growth and would urge any expanding business looking for purpose-built, modern facilities to come and see the exceptional offer we have here at NETPark.”

SEEDS’ growth reflects the strength of NETPark’s innovation. Working alongside the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), Durham University and Business Durham, the company has transformed groundbreaking research into a commercially scalable process.

CPI has been a key partner in this journey, helping the company test and refine its ideas and providing the support needed to move SEEDS from early research into practical, scalable production.

The company’s partnership with Mitsui is also now helping to accelerate its commercial reach. SEEDS formally signed its agreement with Mitsui in November, and the collaboration is already enabling introductions to major microelectronics manufacturers and opening access to global markets that would otherwise take much longer to reach.

Jason Chehal, founder of SEEDS, said: “This expansion marks an important moment for SEEDS, as it allows us to move from research excellence to genuine commercial readiness. Over the past decade we’ve worked to understand how to engineer graphene in a way that solves real-world challenges, not just in the lab but at industrial scale. Moving into our new space at NETPark means we can now begin building the customer-specific systems that global industries are asking for, from microelectronics and energy storage to aerospace, automotive, IoT and even space technologies.

“We’ve reached a point where the technology is proven, the demand is clear, and the partnerships are in place. With CPI’s long-standing support, Mitsui opening doors internationally, and a world-class ecosystem here at NETPark, we’re able to accelerate into the next phase. What excites me most is that every reactor we build here can directly support a leading manufacturer somewhere in the world. It’s not just growth for our company, it’s an opportunity to demonstrate what can be achieved from County Durham on the global stage.

“This next chapter is about readiness, scale and impact. We’re proud to be expanding here, and proud that the work we are doing in the North East has the potential to influence the future of advanced materials worldwide.”

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Filtronic shortlisted for Technology Company of the Year at SmallCap Awards

Filtronic awards trophy

A leading North East technology firm based at NETPark is celebrating fresh recognition after being shortlisted for a major industry award.

Filtronic has been named as a finalist for Technology Company of the Year at the SmallCap Awards — marking a second consecutive year of recognition after taking home the title in 2025.

The shortlisting follows what the company describes as an “exceptional year” of progress, underpinned by continued innovation and commercial success.

Over the past 12 months, Filtronic has advanced its technology roadmap with the launch of several new products, including Prometheus, Cerus 32 V and its DIFI technology. These developments further strengthen the company’s position in high-performance RF and mmWave technology — sectors that are increasingly critical to applications such as telecommunications, aerospace and defence.

Alongside product innovation, the company has secured a series of significant contract wins and strategic developments. These milestones not only demonstrate growing demand for Filtronic’s solutions but also reflect the strength of its long-standing customer relationships.

The latest recognition from the SmallCap Awards highlights both the company’s technical leadership and its continued momentum within the industry.

Filtronic has thanked the awards organisers and congratulated the other shortlisted companies, adding that it remains proud of its team’s achievements and optimistic about the year ahead.