84-705: Darlington Town Hall is a municipal building in Feethams, Darlington , County Durham , England. It is the meeting place of Darlington Borough Council . In the late 1960s proposals were developed by the Shepherd Building Group to demolish the town's market hall and redevelop the area: these proposals were supported by the Conservative administration on the Borough Council. The borough architect, Eric Tornbohm, subsequently developed plans, which were supported by
168-646: A heritage asset legally protected) is called 'designation'. Several different terms are used because the processes use separate legislation: buildings are 'listed'; ancient monuments are 'scheduled', wrecks are 'protected', and battlefields, gardens and parks are 'registered'. A heritage asset is a part of the historic environment that is valued because of its historic, archaeological, architectural or artistic interest. Only some of these are judged to be important enough to have extra legal protection through designation. Buildings that are not formally listed but still judged as being of heritage interest can still be regarded as
252-436: A material consideration in the planning process. As a very rough guide, listed buildings are structures considered of special architectural and historical importance. Ancient monuments are of 'national importance' containing evidential values, and can on many occasions also relate to below ground or unoccupied sites and buildings. Almost anything can be listed. Buildings and structures of special historic interest come in
336-519: A branch of Barclays bank. During the period, George Gordon Hoskins was responsible for much of the town's architecture, designing buildings such as The King's Head Hotel. Darlington Free Library, a Grade II listed building in Crown Street, was built for £10,000 by Edward Pease . His daughter, Lady Lymington, opened the building on 23 October 1885 and presented it to the town council who agreed to operate it in perpetuity. As of 2022 , it contains
420-645: A building. Listed building consent must be obtained from local authorities before any alteration to a listed structure. There are about 8,500 listed buildings in Northern Ireland, divided into four grades, defined as follows: In Scotland, listing was begun by a provision in the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1947, and the current legislative basis for listing is the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 . As with other matters regarding planning, conservation
504-463: A commitment to sharing the understanding of the historic environment and more openness in the process of designation. In 2008, a draft Heritage Protection Bill was subject to pre-legislative scrutiny before its passage through UK Parliament. The legislation was abandoned despite strong cross-party support, to make room in the parliamentary legislative programme for measures to deal with the credit crunch, though it may be revived in future. The proposal
588-404: A group that is—for example, all the buildings in a square. This is called 'group value'. Sometimes large areas comprising many buildings may not justify listing but receive the looser protection of designation as a conservation area . The specific criteria include: The state of repair of a building is not generally deemed to be a relevant consideration for listing. Additionally: Although
672-642: A library and "centre for local studies". In 1870, The Northern Echo newspaper launched. Its most famous editor, William Thomas Stead , died on the Titanic . Facing the present Northern Echo building on Priestgate is the William Stead public house named for him. In 1939, Darlington had the most cinema seats per capita in the United Kingdom. On the night of 13 January 1945, a Lancaster bomber piloted by Pilot Officer William Stuart McMullen of Canada
756-451: A list of locally listed buildings as separate to the statutory list (and in addition to it). There is no statutory protection of a building or object on the local list but many receive a degree of protection from loss through being in a Conservation Area or through planning policy. Councils hope that owners will recognise the merits of their properties and keep them unaltered if at all possible. Listing began later in Northern Ireland than in
840-403: A listed building is a criminal offence and owners can be prosecuted. A planning authority can also insist that all work undertaken without consent be reversed at the owner's expense. See also Category:Grade II* listed buildings for examples of such buildings across England and Wales. See also Category:Grade II listed buildings for examples of such buildings across England and Wales. It
924-674: A listed structure. Applications for consent are made on a form obtained from Historic Environment Scotland. After consulting the local planning authority, the owner, where possible, and an independent third party, Historic Environment Scotland makes a recommendation on behalf of the Scottish Ministers. The scheme for classifying buildings is: There are about 47,400 listed buildings in Scotland. Of these, around 8 percent (some 3,800) are Category A, 50 percent are Category B, and 42 percent are listed at Category C. Although
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#17328558044121008-545: A non-statutory basis. Although a limited number of 'ancient monuments' were given protection under the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882 , there was reluctance to restrict the owners of occupied buildings in their actions related to their property. The extensive damage to buildings caused by German bombing during World War II prompted efforts to list and protect buildings that were deemed to be of particular architectural merit. Three hundred members of
1092-510: A permanent main line with branches. On 27 September 1825, George Stephenson 's engine, Locomotion No. 1 , travelled between Shildon and Stockton-on-Tees via Darlington, an event that was seen as ushering in the modern railway age. Later in the 19th century, the town became an important centre for railway manufacturing. An early railway works was the Hopetown Carriage Works (est. 1853), which supplied carriages and locomotives to
1176-521: A process of reform, including a review of the criteria used for listing buildings. A Review of Heritage Policy in 2006 was criticised, and the Government began a process of consultation on changes to Planning Policy Guidance 15 , relating to the principles of selection for listing buildings in England. The government's White Paper "Heritage Protection for the 21st Century", published on 8 March 2007, offered
1260-511: A provision in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947 covering England and Wales, and the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1947 covering Scotland. Listing was first introduced into Northern Ireland under the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1972. The listing process has since developed slightly differently in each part of the UK. The process of protecting the built historic environment (i.e. getting
1344-475: A relatively high proportion of ethnic minority residents (39.2% of the population in that area, compared to a town average of 6.3%). Constituted as a charity under UK law in 1982, the mosque offers worship facilities, as well as Islamic education, and has its own telecommunications mast for calls to prayer. Teesside International Airport is located 5 mi (8 km) east of Darlington town centre; it serves County Durham and North Yorkshire . The airport
1428-539: A single document, the National Planning Policy Framework . A consultation draft of this was published on 25 July 2011 and the final version on 27 March 2012. This became a material consideration in planning matters on publication. It has since been revised in 2018, 2019 and 2021. The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission in England and Cadw in Wales list buildings under three grades, with Grade I being
1512-522: A towering spire and a grade I listed status. Other churches include Methodist , Baptist , Roman Catholic and Jehovah Witness places of worship, as well as Holy Trinity Church and the grade II listed St John the Evangelist Church which closed for worship in 2023. The Jamia Mosque and Islamic Society of Darlington is located in the North Lodge Terrace area of the town, an area with
1596-677: A warehouse facility, which opened in early 2020, employing 1,300 full-time staff, one of the town's biggest employers. EE is the largest private sector employer in the town, with 2,500 staff. The company took over its operations from one of its predecessors, Orange Mobile. The Morton Park area of Darlington is currently undergoing a partial redevelopment, with areas of unused waste land being redeveloped into modern industrial and office space. Other commercial spaces in Darlington include North Road Industrial Estate, Cleveland Trading Estate and Faverdale Industrial Estate. The council depot on Central Park
1680-607: A wide variety of forms and types, ranging from telephone boxes and road signs, to castles. Historic England has created twenty broad categories of structures, and published selection guides for each one to aid with assessing buildings and structures. These include historical overviews and describe the special considerations for listing each category. However, in 2020, the Supreme Court ruled in Dill v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and another that buildings in
1764-518: Is Grade I listed. The oldest church in Darlington is St Andrew's Church , built around 1100 in Haughton-le-Skerne . When the author Daniel Defoe visited the town during the 18th century, he noted that it was eminent for "good bleaching of linen, so that I have known cloth brought from Scotland to be bleached here". However, he also disparaged the town, writing that it had "nothing remarkable but dirt"; roads would have typically been unpaved in
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#17328558044121848-597: Is a market and industrial town in County Durham , England. It is the main administrative centre of the unitary authority Borough of Darlington . The borough is a constituent member of the devolved Tees Valley area. The River Skerne , a tributary of the River Tees , flows through the town. It is sited near to the Yorkshire Dales National Park , being 11 miles (18 km) from the park boundary near
1932-762: Is a power devolved to the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government . The authority for listing rests with Historic Environment Scotland (formerly Historic Scotland ), an executive agency of the Scottish Government, which inherited this role from the Scottish Development Department in 1991. The listing system is administered by Historic Environment Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Ministers. Listed building consent must be obtained from local authorities before any alteration to
2016-708: Is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line ; it is served by four train operating companies : Grade I In the United Kingdom , a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England , Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland , Cadw in Wales , and
2100-453: Is also to be redeveloped into commercial space. Darlington has a rich engineering heritage and several notable engineering firms established locally. Bridge building was particularly important in the town. Bridges built in Darlington span the River Nile and Amazon . Local engineering firms include: As an historic market town, a weekly outdoor market was held on the market square, which
2184-526: Is an international fine artist who gained credit for his early work dedicated to the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic. [1] The Forum Music Centre, opened in 2004, hosts regular live music events, from Ska and Punk to Indie and Classic Rock. It also runs a comedy club. As well as live music, the facility houses a state of the art recording studio and several rehearsal rooms. The Carmel Rhythm Club, at Carmel College in
2268-430: Is based at Darlington Town Hall on Feethams in the centre of Darlington. Darlington was an ancient parish . It was historically divided into four townships : Archdeacon Newton , Blackwell , Cockerton , and a Darlington township covering the town itself and adjoining areas. Such townships also became civil parishes in 1866. A body of improvement commissioners was established in 1823 to provide infrastructure to
2352-441: Is not unusual for historic sites, particularly large sites, to contain buildings with multiple, sometimes varying, designations. For example, Derwent Valley Mills , a World Heritage Site contains 838 listed buildings, made up of 16 listed at Grade I, 42 at Grade II* and 780 at Grade II. A further nine structures are Scheduled monuments . Many councils, for example, Birmingham City Council and Crawley Borough Council , maintain
2436-425: Is on Hollyhurst Road, in the corridor between Woodland Road and The Denes. The private Woodlands Hospital is at Morton Park. The former Civic Theatre, now The Hippodrome , is a popular arts venue in the town, hosting a mix of musicals, dramas, plays and pantomimes. In 2016, Darlington Civic Theatre closed to mark the start of a £12.3 million renovation project that included a £4.5 million lottery grant from
2520-467: Is one of the biggest in the country. An indoor market is located underneath the town clock on Prebend Row. Retailers in the area include: In November 2012, a deal was signed between Darlington Borough Council and developer Terrace Hill for a £30 million re-development of the site of the former Feethams bus depot. The proposal had an expected completion date of late 2014, though this did overrun with completion early 2016. Darlington Memorial Hospital
2604-542: Is possible but is rare. One example is Anmer Hall in Norfolk, which was listed in 1984 and de-listed in 1988. In an emergency, the local planning authority can serve a temporary " Building Preservation Notice " (BPN), if a building is in danger of demolition or alteration in such a way that might affect its historic character. This remains in force for six months until the Secretary of State decides whether or not to formally list
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2688-534: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to deliver the government policy on the protection to historic buildings and other heritage assets. The decision about whether or not to list a building is made by the Secretary of State, although the process is administered in England by Historic England . The listed building system in Wales formerly also operated under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, as in England, until this
2772-622: The Office for National Statistics , with figures in £ millions. Finance and manufacturing are now the main elements of its economy. A major employer in the area is the English division of the Student Loans Company , Student Finance England, which is based at Lingfield Point and employs over 1,000 people. Other large service sector companies with offices in the town include Darlington Building Society . Darlington Borough Council announced that
2856-609: The River Tees and River Skerne pass through the borough, the Skerne later joining the Tees which then flows east and into the North Sea . Due to river bifurcation at the Baydale Beck and Cocker Beck, which later flow into the Tees and Skerne respectively, much of the western side of Darlington forms a river island . In the north are Harrowgate , Coatham Mundeville and Beaumont Hill and to
2940-672: The Royal Institute of British Architects and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings were dispatched to prepare the list under the supervision of the Inspectorate of Ancient Monuments, with funding from the Treasury. The listings were used as a means to determine whether a particular building should be rebuilt if it was damaged by bombing, with varying degrees of success. In Scotland,
3024-419: The 18th century. The so-called Durham Ox came from Darlington; born in the early 19th century, this steer became renowned for its excellent proportions which came to inform the standard for Shorthorn cattle. During the early 19th century, Darlington remained a small market town. The Stockton and Darlington Railway ran steam locomotives designed for passengers and goods, built to a standard gauge, on
3108-558: The 2008 draft legislation was abandoned, Historic England (then part of English Heritage) published a single list of all designated heritage assets within England in 2011. The National Heritage List for England is an online searchable database which includes 400,000 English Listings, this includes individual listed buildings, groups of multiple listed buildings which share the same listing, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, protected historic wrecks and registered battlefields and World Heritage Sites in one place. The 400,000 in
3192-484: The Anglo-Saxon Dearthington , which seemingly meant 'the settlement of Deornoth's people' but, by Norman times, the name had changed to Derlinton. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the town was usually known by the name of Darnton . Darlington has a historic market area in the town centre. St Cuthbert's Church , built in 1183, is one of the most important early English churches in the north of England and
3276-742: The DCLG published Planning Policy Statement 5 , "Planning for the Historic Environment". This replaced PPG15 and set out the government's national policies on the conservation of the historic environment in England. PPS5 was supported by a Practice Guide, endorsed by the DCLG, the DCMS, and English Heritage, which explained how to apply the policies stated in PPS5. In December 2010, the Department for Communities and Local Government announced that in England all PPSs and Planning Policy Guidance Notes would be replaced by
3360-645: The Firestone demolition, the Secretary of State for the Environment , Michael Heseltine , also initiated a complete re-survey of buildings to ensure that everything that merited preservation was on the lists. In England, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) works with Historic England (an agency of the DCMS), and other government departments, e.g. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and
3444-511: The Government's Heritage Protection Reform (HPR) report in July 2003 by the DCMS, entitled "Protecting our historic environment: Making the system work better", asked questions about how the current designation systems could be improved. The HPR decision report "Review of Heritage Protection: The Way Forward", a green paper published in June 2004 by the DCMS, committed the UK government and English Heritage to
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3528-521: The Heritage Lottery Fund and revamped as The Hippodrome and connects to the children's theatre Hullabaloo . The Friends' Meeting House in Skinnergate is a Grade II* listed building. The Friends (Quakers) have met on this site since 1678, having previously met in private homes. The present building dates mainly from 1846. Upstairs of The Quaker meeting house is home to Artist Lucas Roy. Lucas
3612-725: The Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland . The classification schemes differ between England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland (see sections below). The term has also been used in the Republic of Ireland , where buildings are protected under the Planning and Development Act 2000, although the statutory term in Ireland is " protected structure ". A listed building may not be demolished, extended, or altered without permission from
3696-620: The Hummersknott end of town, was another music venue. It opened the same year as the Forum. Darlington Dog Show was a championship event from 1969. It was usually held in September on the showground in South Park ; but it has now moved to Ripon. Darlington has a wide array of churches scattered around the town including the iconic and notable parish church of St Cuthbert's in the centre of town, with
3780-500: The Stockton and Darlington Railway. The engineering firm of William and Alfred Kitching also manufactured locomotives there around this time. The town eventually developed three significant railway works: During the 19th century, Darlington Quaker families such as those of Pease and Backhouse emerged as major employers and philanthropists. Industrialist Joseph Pease gave Darlington its landmark clock tower in 1864. The clock face
3864-692: The UK's architectural heritage; England alone has 14,500 listed places of worship (4,000 Grade I, 4,500 Grade II* and 6,000 Grade II) and 45% of all Grade I listed buildings are places of worship. Some of the listed churches are no longer in use; between 1969 and 2010, some 1,795 churches were closed by the Church of England , equalling roughly 11% of the stock, with about a third listed as Grade I or Grade II. The criteria for listing include architectural interest, historic interest and close historical associations with significant people or events. Buildings not individually noteworthy may still be listed if they form part of
3948-536: The architectural and historic interest. The Secretary of State, who may seek additional advice from others, then decides whether to list or delist the building. In England, the authority for listing is granted to the Secretary of State by the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 . Listed buildings in danger of decay are listed on the Historic England 'Heritage at Risk' Register . In 1980, there
4032-548: The building. Until the passing of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 an application for a Certificate of Immunity from Listing (CoI) could only be made if planning permission was being sought or had been obtained in England. However, the changes brought about by the Act means that now anyone can ask the Secretary of State to issue a Certificate of Immunity in respect of a particular building at any time. In England and Wales,
4116-625: The council has been a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority along with Hartlepool , Middlesbrough , Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees . Unlike Darlington, the other four districts in the combined authority had all been part of the short-lived county of Cleveland between 1974 and 1996. As of 2024 , the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Darlington constituency is Labour 's Lola McEvoy . Former members of parliament for
4200-407: The decision to list a building may be made on the basis of the architectural or historic interest of one small part of the building, the listing protection nevertheless applies to the whole building. Listing applies not just to the exterior fabric of the building itself, but also to the interior, fixtures, fittings, and objects within the curtilage of the building even if they are not fixed. De-listing
4284-474: The first to be constructed since the 1960s. It was intended to be the 50th member of the long withdrawn LNER Peppercorn Class A1 engine, called Tornado and numbered 60163, from scratch in the 1853 former Stockton and Darlington Railway Carriage Works at Hopetown. Many of the original fleet had been built at Darlington locomotive works in the late 1940s. Tornado was completed in January 2008. To commemorate
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#17328558044124368-602: The highest grade, as follows: There was formerly a non-statutory Grade III , which was abolished in 1970. Additionally, Grades A, B and C were used mainly for Anglican churches in active use, loosely corresponding to Grades I, II and III. These grades were used mainly before 1977, although a few buildings are still listed using these grades. In 2010, listed buildings accounted for about 2% of English building stock. In March 2010, there were about 374,000 list entries, of which 92% were Grade II, 5.5% were Grade II* and 2.5% were Grade I. Places of worship are an important part of
4452-410: The listing should not be confused with the actual number of listed buildings, which will be much larger than the listing, because a listing can include more than one building that share the same listing number. The legislative frameworks for each type of historic asset remains unchanged. A photographic library of English listed buildings was started in 1999 as a snapshot of buildings listed at the turn of
4536-749: The local planning authority, which typically consults the relevant central government agency. In England and Wales , a national amenity society must be notified of any work to be done on a listed building which involves any element of demolition. Exemption from secular listed building control is provided for some buildings in current use for worship, but only in cases where the relevant religious organisation operates its own equivalent permissions procedure. Owners of listed buildings are, in some circumstances, compelled to repair and maintain them and can face criminal prosecution if they fail to do so or if they perform unauthorised alterations. When alterations are permitted, or when listed buildings are repaired or maintained,
4620-531: The management of listed buildings is the responsibility of local planning authorities and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (i.e., not DCMS, which originally listed the building). There is a general principle that listed buildings are put to 'appropriate and viable use' and recognition that this may involve the re-use and modification of the building. However, listed buildings cannot be modified without first obtaining Listed Building Consent through
4704-473: The more built-up parts of the Darlington township. The commissioners were superseded in 1850 when the whole Darlington township was made a local board district , governed by an elected local board. The local board was in turn replaced when Darlington was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867. The borough boundaries were enlarged on several occasions, notably absorbing the Harrowgate Hill area from
4788-451: The new building was laid by the Minister of Housing and Local Government , Anthony Greenwood , on 30 November 1967. It was designed by Williamson, Faulkner Brown and Partners and was opened by Princess Anne on 27 May 1970. The design involved a long concrete tower block facing onto Feethams with another block jutting out of the rear. Internally, the principal room was the council chamber which
4872-521: The north-east are Whinfield and Haughton Le Skerne. To the east is the suburb of Eastbourne and Red Hall with Firthmoor and Skerne Park to the south. Situated in the west end are Hummersknott , Mowden and Blackwell . Finally, to the north-west are Branksome , Cockerton , Faverdale , The Denes , West Park , High Grange and Pierremont which is associated with the notable Henry Pease (MP) . The trend of regional gross value added of Darlington at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by
4956-660: The owners are often required to use specific materials or techniques. Although most sites appearing on the lists are buildings, other structures such as bridges, monuments, sculptures, war memorials, milestones and mileposts , and the Abbey Road zebra crossing made famous by the Beatles , are also listed. Ancient, military, and uninhabited structures, such as Stonehenge , are sometimes instead classified as scheduled monuments and are protected by separate legislation. Cultural landscapes such as parks and gardens are currently "listed" on
5040-407: The parish of Haughton-le-Skerne in 1872, Cockerton in 1915, Haughton-le-Skerne in 1930 and Blackwell in 1967. In 1915 the borough was elevated to become a county borough , taking over county-level functions from Durham County Council . The borough was substantially enlarged in 1974 to take in most of the surrounding Darlington Rural District, such that the modern borough of Darlington covers both
5124-508: The process slightly predated the war with the Marquess of Bute (in his connections to the National Trust for Scotland ) commissioning the architect Ian Lindsay in September 1936 to survey 103 towns and villages based on an Amsterdam model using three categories (A, B and C). The basis of the current more comprehensive listing process was developed from the wartime system. It was enacted by
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#17328558044125208-531: The relevant local planning authority. In Wales, applications are made using a form obtained from the relevant local authority. There is no provision for consent to be granted in outline. When a local authority is disposed to grant listed building consent, it must first notify the Welsh Parliament ( i.e. Cadw ) of the application. If the planning authority decides to refuse consent, it may do so without any reference to Cadw. Carrying out unauthorised works to
5292-551: The responsibility for the listing process rests with the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities , which took over the built heritage functions of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (formerly the Environment and Heritage Service) following the break up of the Department of the Environment. Following the introduction of listing, an initial survey of Northern Ireland's building stock
5376-561: The rest of the UK: the first provision for listing was contained in the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1972; and the current legislative basis for listing is the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991. Under Article 42 of the Order, the relevant Department of the Northern Ireland Executive is required to compile lists of buildings of "special architectural or historic interest". Since 2016,
5460-400: The scheme must meet certain criteria – "a three-fold test which involved considering size, permanence and degree of physical attachment" – referred to as the Skerritts test in reference to a previous legal case in England. Both Historic Environment Scotland and Cadw produce guidance for owners. In England, to have a building considered for listing or delisting, the process is to apply to
5544-413: The secretary of state; this can be done by submitting an application form online to Historic England . The applicant does not need to be the owner of the building to apply for it to be listed. Full information including application form guidance notes are on the Historic England website. Historic England assesses buildings put forward for listing or delisting and provides advice to the Secretary of State on
5628-422: The site for the DL1 complex, previously a car park for Darlington Town Hall , was also to be redeveloped to house riverside office space for the Department for Education to replace its previous office on the edge of the town in Mowden, in an effort to safeguard Darlington jobs. This was officially opened on 19 March 2015. The Disclosure and Barring Service has a national office in the town. Amazon UK operates
5712-494: The structure subsequently became known as "Resurgence". The town hall initially served as the headquarters of Darlington County Borough Council and remained the local seat of government when the enlarged Darlington District Council was formed in 1974. It went on to become the headquarters of the new unitary authority , Darlington Borough Council , in 1997. The council chamber subsequently became an approved venue for marriages and civil partnerships. Darlington Darlington
5796-434: The successor Labour Party administration to create a series of "concrete and glass boxes" in the area. After Alfred Waterhouse 's town hall became inadequate, civic leaders decided to construct the first of these "concrete and glass boxes": the site they selected in Feethams had been occupied by the Lead Yard Bus Station which itself had been built on the site of the old Darlington Union Workhouse. The foundation stone for
5880-430: The town and a surrounding rural hinterland. The enlarged borough was also reconstituted as a non-metropolitan district as part of the 1974 reforms, with Durham County Council once more providing county-level services to the town. The borough was made a unitary authority on 1 April 1997, regaining its independence from the county council. The borough remains part of County Durham for ceremonial purposes . Since 2016,
5964-443: The town include Peter Gibson , Jenny Chapman , Alan Milburn (the former Secretary of State for Health under Tony Blair 's Labour government) and Michael Fallon (who was Secretary of State for Defence under David Cameron 's coalition government and Theresa May 's Conservative government). Darlington is located in the south of County Durham close to the River Tees, which acts as the border between Durham and Yorkshire. Both
6048-466: The town of Richmond . Darlington had a population of 107,800 in the 2021 Census , which classes it as a "large town". In the 19th century, establishment of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (the world's first permanent steam locomotive -powered passenger railway) led to the town having an industrial and manufacturing economy. Darlington started as an Anglo-Saxon settlement. The name derives from
6132-535: The town's contribution to the railways, David Mach 's 1997 work Train is located alongside the A66, close to the original Stockton–Darlington railway. It is a life-size brick sculpture of a steaming locomotive emerging from a tunnel, made from 185,000 Accrington Nori bricks . The work had a budget of £760,000. In 2001, Darlington became the first place in England to allow same-sex civil ceremonies and as of 2022 , it hosts an annual Gay Pride Festival at venues across
6216-402: The town. A 2005 Darlington Borough Council project to pedestrianise areas of the town centre, this included some Victorian features along High Row. In August 2008, a fire, in which nobody was killed, caused damage and weeks of closure until the damage fixed for several shops (including Woolworths ). The King's Head Hotel was also affected with damage to the roof and 100 bedrooms, the hotel
6300-511: Was able to reopen in 2012. There is one main tier of local government covering Darlington, at unitary authority level, being Darlington Borough Council . The council is a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority , led by the directly elected Mayor of Tees Valley . Most of the built-up area of Darlington is an unparished area , although some outer parts of the urban area now extend into neighbouring parishes. The council
6384-564: Was begun in 1974. By the time of the completion of this First Survey in 1994, the listing process had developed considerably, and it was therefore decided to embark upon a Second Survey, which is still ongoing, to update and cross-check the original information. Information gathered during this survey, relating to both listed and unlisted buildings, is entered into the publicly accessible Northern Ireland Buildings Database. A range of listing criteria, which aim to define architectural and historic interest, are used to determine whether or not to list
6468-738: Was crafted by T. Cooke & Sons of York , and bells cast by John Warner & Sons of nearby Norton-on-Tees . The bells are sisters to Big Ben . Darlington Mechanics Institute was opened in 1854 by Elizabeth Pease Nichol , who had donated towards its cost. In 1853, South Park was laid out, over 91 acres (37 ha), with financial support from the Backhouse family. Architect Alfred Waterhouse , famous for work including London's Natural History Museum and Manchester Town Hall , designed Darlington's Grade II listed Old Town Hall and Market Hall, Darlington in 1860. Four years later he contributed Backhouse's Bank building that is, as of 2022 ,
6552-452: Was decorated with vertical strips of elm wood. A zinc and stainless steel structure, intended to depict the resurgence of the area, was designed by John Hoskin and erected outside the town hall. When Princess Anne was asked to unveil a small plaque linked to the structure, Michael Palin records in his diaries that she turned to the journalist, Kate Adie , and exclaimed "F*** Me". The plaque referred to "The Spirit of New Darlington" but
6636-476: Was known as Durham Tees Valley Airport from 2004 until mid-2019. It has flights to a few domestic locations across the UK and international flights to some locations in Europe. Many private or general aviation flights use the airport. The airport has a Fire Training Centre. The nearest large airports are Newcastle (42 mi (68 km)) and Leeds Bradford (62 mi (100 km)). Darlington railway station
6720-500: Was on a training exercise when one of its engines caught fire and it crashed on farmland near Lingfield Lane. McMullen heroically stayed at the controls while his crew parachuted to safety and directed the stricken aircraft away from the houses below. He was killed on impact. His heroism was honoured by renaming Lingfield Lane "McMullen Road" and erecting a memorial monument. Starting in 1993, rail enthusiast group A1 Steam Locomotive Trust worked on building an all-new steam locomotive,
6804-486: Was public outcry at the sudden destruction of the art deco Firestone Tyre Factory ( Wallis, Gilbert and Partners , 1928–29). It was demolished over the August bank holiday weekend by its owners Trafalgar House , who had been told that it was likely to be 'spot-listed' a few days later. In response, the government undertook to review arrangements for listing buildings in order to protect worthy ones from such demolition. After
6888-500: Was replaced in 2024 with Wales-specific heritage legislation. In Wales, the authority for listing is granted to the Welsh Ministers by section 76 of the Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2023, although the listing system is in practice administered by Cadw . There have been several attempts to simplify the heritage planning process for listed buildings in England. As of 2021, few changes had been implemented. The review process
6972-557: Was started in February 2000 by Alan Howarth , then minister at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The outcome was the paper "Power of Place" in December 2000, followed by the subsequent policy document "The Historic Environment: A Force for Our Future", published by the DCMS and the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DTLR) in December 2001. The launch of
7056-692: Was that the existing registers of buildings, parks and gardens, archaeology and battlefields, maritime wrecks, and World Heritage Sites be merged into a single online register that will "explain what is special and why". English Heritage would become directly responsible for identifying historic assets in England and there would be wider consultation with the public and asset owners, and new rights of appeal. There would have been streamlined systems for granting consent for work on historic assets. After several years of consultation with heritage groups, charities, local planning authorities, and English Heritage, in March 2010,
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