Improving walking and cycling links in Durham City
- kelseygarbutt
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Work to improve walking and cycling links in Durham City is to resume later this month.
Durham County Council is to begin the final phase of work near Aykley Heads and County Hall, to complete the project which is aimed at improving the city’s active travel infrastructure.
The scheme is being delivered by the council as part of the North East Local Transport Plan, with funding provided through the North East Combined Authority for the latest phase of work.
The project has received £1 million from the government’s Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) to deliver a shared use cycling and pedestrian route from Aykley Heads roundabout to County Hall. This is part of a £2.8m allocation for walking and cycling improvements in Durham City from the TCF.
Cllr Lyndsey Fox, the council’s Cabinet member for economy and partnerships, said: “The improvements we are delivering are all about enhancing walking and cycling access between key employment sites around Aykley Heads, such as the hospital, Land Registry and council offices; and the train station, city centre and wider walking, wheeling and cycling network around Durham.
“The improvements will help people traveling between the city, station, and major employment sites to do so safely and without adding to congestion along this busy route.”
The last phase of work involves the stretch of the B6532 between Aykley Heads roundabout and County Hall and aims to upgrade footpaths to support shared pedestrian and cycle use, including by widening of existing footpaths.
It includes upgrades to existing traffic light-controlled crossing points between County Hall and the University Hospital of North Durham and improvements to street lighting.
The work gets underway on Monday 23 June and is expected to last ten weeks, with a current scheduled end date of 29 August.
This final phase of the work will be carried out with the northbound lane of the B6532 closed in the interests of public safety, and the southbound lane maintained for the duration of activity. A contraflow arrangement will be in place to the north section of the B6532 at Dryburn Road.
Some footpath closures will also be required, though diversions will be in place.
Buses will be diverted along Southfield Way (the A691) and a temporary bus stop will be provided near the University Hospital of North Durham car park for access to A&E and other services.
All businesses in the area will remain open during the works and diversions for vehicular traffic and pedestrians and cyclists will be indicated by signs.
Cllr Fox added: “Inevitably with any work like this there will be an element of disruption for motorists, but we are carrying it out in phases to minimise that as far as possible. This includes carrying out the bulk of the upcoming work during the school holidays when the roads are quieter and pausing it when the city will be busy for both Durham Miners’ Gala and Durham City Run Festival.
“We would encourage people who travel through the area to plan their journeys in advance while the work is taking place, and we thank everyone for their patience and understanding while we deliver these improvements.”
Phases one to three were completed alongside Southfield Way (the A691) from County Hall roundabout to Sniperley roundabout, and land alongside the B6532 in 2024.
For more information, visit www.durham.gov.uk/durhamcityactivetravel.
To find out more about active travel, cycling and roadworks in County Durham, visit www.durham.gov.uk/activetravel, www.durham.gov.uk/cycling
and www.durham.gov.uk/roadworks respectively.
