500 object to Council HQ plan
MORE than 500 objections have been lodged over Durham County Council’s plans for a new city centre headquarters – but business groups have praised the proposal.
Developer Kier Property has lodged proposals to build a £50m HQ on land at The Sands car park, which will replace the current building at Aykley Heads.
If given the go-ahead, the development would include a council chamber, cafe and a new civic square that will be linked to the Penny Ferry Bridge and a car park.
Angry residents have submitted 546 letters of objection to the authority, but there have been seven letters of support, including from the Durham Markets Company and Durham BID.
One objector said: “Why on earth are the council not putting the new County Hall out of town, easily accessible near the main transport routes, where land is cheap and space can be easily incorporated.
“As it is, there will be no parking, even less than now, no access, absolute mayhem in terms of traffic, access, noise, access to existing buildings, loss of even more river bank space, and just really spoil our city centre.”
But Durham Markets Company has voiced its support for the application.
Colin Wilkes, on behalf of the market, said: “From a business perspective the relocation of the County Hall and many of its staff to that area would only be a benefit to a city centre which is suffering from a decreasing footfall and provided a replacement car park can be made available simultaneously as the Sands car park closes that would be welcomed.”
Adam Deathe, business engagement manager at Durham BID, said: “With up to 1,000 office workers based in the city, the injection to the local economy will be considerable.”
The application is due to go before the County Planning Committee on December 4.