Parking charges to be introduced at Lambton Estate

The Lambton Estate had been closed to the public since the safari park in the grounds shut its doors in 1980.

But in July 2020 the estate opened almost 10 miles of new pathways as part of a major redevelopment.

Four new walks were created, accessible from a public car park off the A183 at Bournmoor.

The new pathways, which have been open each Sunday since July, have proved extremely popular, with a visitors’ car park regularly overflowing and cars having to be redirected into the parking spaces usually reserved for offices on the estate.

September 27 was the last Sunday of the first season and the walkways will be closed until the Spring.

Estate bosses have applied to Durham County Council for planning permission to build a new car park with space for almost 300 vehicles.

But visitors are likely to find themselves paying for the privilege of parking. The current car park is free, but the new plans include a number plate recognition system and space for a payment machine.

The plans, which are set to go before councillors next month, are part of the agreement estate bosses reached with council planners to open up the estate to the public as a condition of planning permission for the redevelopment.

The overall scheme was granted planning permission in 2016 and includes the construction of a community hub including retail and leisure space, and a significant increase in office accommodation at Lambton Park, as well as refurbishment of the castle itself and the iconic Lamb Bridge.

The new car park will be designed to ‘fit in’ with its location, the planning application states, and will be divided into two ‘compartments’, separated by a pedestrian walkway. The western compartment will contain 76 parking spaces and the eastern compartment 208 . Hedge block planting either side of the central path will break up the sight lines to ensure the car park is not seen as one single block.

Six per cent of parking will be allocated as as disabled parking.

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