City park and ride expansion plan

Plans are being considered which could lead to the expansion of Durham City's popular park and ride scheme.

New figures show the £10m service, launched in December 2005, has carried a total of 1.2 million passengers.

Durham County Council says long-term plans are needed to cope with an average monthly increase in passenger levels of 33% compared with last year.

Two additional sites in Shincliffe and Stonebridge are being considered along with extensions of the existing three.

'Unrelenting growth'

Bob Pendlebury, Durham County Council's cabinet member for transport, said: "The scheme has been a huge success from the very start, and has been largely instrumental in reducing the volume of traffic entering the city.

"It has helped to manage peak hour traffic, increasing short-stay parking capacity in the city and attract more visitors and shoppers.

"The provision of additional sites and an extension to existing facilities is certainly worth considering as part of a solution to current and projected traffic levels in the town."

Mr Pendlebury said the "unrelenting growth" in traffic and increasing demand for parking in the city centre had made the scheme essential and its extension a real possibility.