Durham park-and-ride to return - as are parking charges in the city

Additional signage in place at car parking meters across County Durham

The charges will come into force on Monday, June 29 and will apply to all council car parks and on-street pay and display bays in the county.

To make it easier and safer for users, drivers will be able to pay via their mobile using the Pay By Phone service, which allows people to pay for their parking using either their app, website or telephone number.

Anyone not wishing to use that service can still pay by contactless where possible, or by cash at the ticket machine.

Durham County Council’s interim head of Transport and Contract Services, Dave Wafer, said the fees would go towards the local economy and maintaining the council’s transport services.

In a statement published on the council’s Facebook page, he said: “If we don’t charge for parking in town centres those car parks would be full all day.

“If you’re coming in for an hour or two hours you’re certainly not going to get parked, so it’s important that we do make sure we make space available.”

Council bosses have confirmed that free parking will continue to be offered to NHS and critical care workers.

Park and ride

As part of a return to a ‘new normal’, the council’s park-and-ride services in Durham City will also be reinstated from June 29 with extra safety measures in place.

Services from Belmont and Sniperley will run every ten minutes during peak times, and every 15 minutes off-peak and on Saturdays.

However, the Howlands site will remain a Park and Stride site, operating solely as a car park.

To ensure the safety of everyone using the park and ride and in order to follow social distancing guidelines, there will be a maximum of eight passengers per bus.

Drivers will wear personal protective equipment and in line with government guidance, all passengers must wear a face mask whilst on the bus and will be refused access without wearing one.

Passengers are also encouraged to use their contactless cards to pay for their tickets but all machines will be cleaned regularly and hand sanitisers will be made available on site.

Cabinet member for Economic Regeneration, Coun Carl Marshall, added: “Although restrictions are beginning to ease, it is important that we follow government guidance and use public transport safely.

“We’re working hard to ensure the safety of our drivers and passengers aswe prepare to restart the park and ride services and we ask for the public’s patience as we follow these guidelines, particularly at busy times.

“I appreciate that at peak times there may be queues for the service but we would ask people to try to avoid those peak times if possible or spread their journey times to help manage that.

“Using contactless to either pay for the park and ride, or for parking in anytown or city centre, is another measure that we’d encourage for safety.”

As of this week, any parking area or zone enforced by parking permits will be patrolled by traffic enforcement officers, who will also enforce any illegal parking in other areas.

For further details about parking in County Durham, visit www.durham.gov.uk/parking