TOWERING above existing buildings, Darlington’s Business Growth Hub is starting to dominate the skyline.

Although work is still continuing ahead of its opening next year, the structure’s outer shell is proof of the progress being made.

Just a short walk from Darlington railway station, it is expected to house more than 60 new and small businesses when operating at full capacity.

Its presence offers a nice contrast.

Standing close to the rail tracks, and the special history that industry holds in this region, the centre provides a glimpse of the future.

Based south of Central Park, off Yarm Road, it will deliver office space and practical support, with digital enterprise, biologics and advanced engineering at its heart.

Bosses say similar hubs are already operating in North Tyneside and Sunderland, and expect Darlington’s to support the creation of at least 25 new businesses and 350 new jobs.

Managed by Darlington Borough Council and operated by North-East Business Innovation Centre (BIC), funding for the £6.6m project has come from the European Regional Development Fund, which provided £3.3m, and the Homes and Communities Agency.

Ian Williams, the council’s director of economic growth, said the building, expected to be open by April next year, will be key to business in the town.

He said: “This is quite a crucial stage of our evolution and we are going to have prime office space.

“There will be a number of businesses in there and we hope they can cluster together and feed off each other through their knowledge and experience.

“The BIC has the experience of business support and this is an opportunity for Darlington to really capture a piece of the action.”

David Howell, BIC’s director of operations, told The Northern Echo the development would be intrinsic to strengthening the local economy.

He added: “It’s fantastic to see the progress and the building is really taking shape.

“This development is all about ensuring we have first-class business accommodation and support to stimulate the economy by attracting new and existing companies.

“This really will be the place for businesses to be; it is in an attractive setting with superb facilities.”

The hub’s presence is not the only change to Darlington’s business landscape.

Just next door, the steel skeleton of another structure looms large.

This building will be the Centre for Process Innovation’s (CPI) £38m National Biologics Manufacturing Centre, which will also open in 2015.

Bosses say it will make the town a European leader in medical innovation.

Hailed by Prime Minister David Cameron as a historic landmark and funded by the Government’s Office for Life Sciences, it will work on potentially life-saving cures and vaccines.

A £20m sister plant, supported by £10m from Tees Valley Unlimited local enterprise partnership (TVU), as part of the Government’s local growth fund, will follow in 2017.

That will aim to revolutionise the healthcare sector by testing and making technology to deliver medicines for specific diseases and patient cases.

Both sites are expected to create scores of highly-skilled jobs and support hundreds of construction posts.

Further roles could come to the town if the lab attracts collaborative work and spin-out companies.

Dr Chris Dowle, CPI director of biologics, previously told The Northern Echo of the huge potential the industry has in the town.

He said: “Each individual has their own genome and understanding those helps to better understand how to treat them.

“We can better look at the needs of people and potentially develop individual cocktails of treatment.

“That means rather than getting something which might deliver side effects or not work, we can deliver something that will be effective.

“If the UK is to lead and exploit the significant advances from the investment in biologics research made already, it will need to continue to develop manufacturing.

“Being in Darlington, it’s a bit like moving from trains to strains, and this could really start the revolution and herald a new journey.”