Hopetown Darlington
Sector: Heritage
Client: Darlington Borough Council
Framework: SCAPE Construction
Project value: £35m
"I would like to thank everyone involved in this impressive project from the investors and sponsors to the many varied and talented teams who have created this wonderful attraction and the local residents who have supported it. Hopetown Darlington brings our unique railway story to life, combining our proud history with the latest technology. Visitors of all ages, families and train enthusiasts, are guaranteed a fantastic day out."
Steve Harker
Darlington Borough Council Leader
Ahead of Stockton and Darlington Railway's 200th anniversary, Darlington Borough Council sought to transform the Head of Steam railway museum at Hopetown into a worldwide tourist attraction.
Operating from 1825 to 1863, Stockton and Darlington Railway was the world's first public railway to use steam locomotives.
Celebrating the story of the town's rich heritage of engineering, ideas and invention, the £35m project, delivered by Willmott Dixon via the SCAPE Construction framework, involved the design and build of a new live engineering shed, the refurbishment of Grade II listed buildings and regeneration of the former Head of Steam railway museum site.
Expected to attract more than 300,000 visitors a year, Hopetown Darlington also boasts an immersive experience building, café and shop, new public realm and a railway themed children’s play area.
Originally known as the Darlington Railway Heritage Quarter, the 3 hectare site, was the birthplace for the world’s first steam locomotive passenger railway - the catalyst for the industrial railway revolution.
Located next to North Road Station in Darlington, the whole site was falling into disrepair with some buildings unused for almost 30 years and decades of overgrowth covering them. Ahead of 2025's bi-centenary celebrations, Darlington Borough Council approached Willmott Dixon to transform the Darlington Railway museum into a cutting-edge tourist attraction, bringing life back into the site and connecting the local community to it's rich heritage of engineering.
At the heart of the project was the sensitive restoration of a Grade II-listed Goods Shed. Careful restoration works have allowed for the original windows, roof, stonework and archways to be retained, maintaining its historical integrity while incorporating modern, immersive exhibits inside with cutting-edge displays, including a hologauze screen and a miniature railway.
The former station building, now renamed the North Road Station Museum, has been opened up to reflect its original form. Large external walls were replaced with glazing, flooding light into the building and reconnecting the interior with the old rail tracks outside, giving visitors and train passengers a glimpse into the past.
The Carriage Works, a building that has been part of the site since 1853, was converted into an airy exhibition hall and archive, and the newly built Darlington Locomotive Works, connected by a new link bridge, lets visitors watch volunteers build locomotives. A new outside addition to Hopetown is the 'Wagon Woods' adventure park, which provides a family-friendly play space.
Visitors to the newly opened Hopetown Darlington can learn the town’s impressive story through interactive exhibits and rides housed in some of the original, renovated railway buildings.
Throughout the project, the Willmott Dixon team engaged with 1,116 local school and college students, created more than 200 weeks of new employment opportunities, and supported 265 weeks of apprenticeships, working with organisations such as We are Social Enterprise Recruitment.
“As an apprentice on Project Hopetown for two years, I gained invaluable experience working alongside a skilled team and navigating the many challenges of such a complex project. It was incredibly rewarding to collaborate with professionals across different disciplines and contribute to the restoration and innovation of Darlington’s heritage. Every day brought new learning opportunities and seeing the result fills me with pride.”
Rylie Sweeney
Apprentice Building Manager, Willmott Dixon
Social value outcomes
This project has been submitted by Willmott Dixon as part of the collaborative Social Value in Construction Benchmarking Report. This report captures the latest insight into the regional and national trends in social value delivery, learn more here.
1,116
School and college students engaged
265
Apprenticeship weeks
200
Weeks employment opportunities
£105,000
Social enterprise spend
In collaboration with:
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