Work on Durham County Council's new headquarters at the Sands car park begins on Monday - so how will this affect parking, road closures and bus routes?
Durham County Council is moving from its current Aykley Heads site to the Sands car park and work on the new building begins on Monday, August 12 2019.
The new Durham County Council headquarters will house 1,000 staff from the current County Hall site with 700 workstations, whilst a further 850 staff will be relocated to one of four council office sites being developed across the county.
When does work start on the new Durham council offices?
Initial work for the new council offices on the Sands car park starts on Monday August 12, meaning that the Sands car park closure will begin then. The main construction work then starts in September 2019.
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What happens to car parking at the Sands?
The Sands car park is closed from Monday August 12 for two years while the new Durham County Council headquarters building is constructed.
What are the other Durham parking changes during the construction?
Sidegate car park in Durham will change from being long stay to short stay to accommodate visitors, shoppers and Freeman's Quay Leisure Centre users. Disabled parking spaces for people visiting the city centre or Passport Office are available in Walkergate and the Prince Bishops Shopping Centre.
There is parking on the other side of Framwellgate Bridge with the opening of the Riverwalk development.
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What happens to Durham coach parking and drop-off?
With the closure of the Sands car park, the coach park will permanently relocate to Belmont Park and Ride. The coach park at Belmont Park and Ride on the A690 will be expanded to include more spaces and coach cleaning facilities. This will be operational from the end of September.
A temporary coach park at Belmont Park and Ride, with access to facilities, will be available until then.
Visitors coming by coach will be dropped off at the existing stops at Freeman's Place and the Cathedral Bus service will continue to pick up visitors outside CoHo on Freeman's Place.
Will access to Durham riverbank stay open during the building work?
A temporary footpath will be created on the roadside next to the Durham County Council's new headquarters during construction work to ensure safe pedestrian access, but access to the riverbank side will be limited until the building work is completed.
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