Despite protests from residents and visiting coach operators, Durham County Council has approved plans to build a new, £50m headquarters on the site of the current coach and car park.
The new building at The Sands will provide a boost to the local economy, according to the council, which approved the plans at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday 5 March.
However, leader of the city’s Parish Council, Cllr Elizabeth Scott, told ITV: “It’s bad for business. Durham will lose its coach park, which it relies on for day visitors and half-day visitors.
That cannot be good for a city like Durham.”
A planning application to move the coach park to the Belmont Park & Ride site on the outskirts of the city – three miles away from its current city centre location – has been approved.
The new park will have 30 spaces, and will be accessed using the existing bus-only link from the A690.
Coaches will exit through the Park & Ride and onto the A690 via an existing signal-controlled junction.
Work is expected to begin on the new council headquarters in 2020.
