City of Durham Parish Council responds to the new County Durham Plan scoping consultation

The City of Durham Parish Council has officially responded to an important consultation relating to the new County Durham Plan.

A full copy of the City of Durham Parish Council’s response can be found here: CoDPC response to CDP Scoping consultation

The Parish Council is also encouraging residents, community groups, businesses and organisations across Durham to have their say on what is one of the most important planning consultations for our county.

The new County Durham Plan will set the planning framework which will guide what type of development takes place and where across County Durham in the years ahead.

The County Council is currently consulting on its County Durham Plan Scoping Document – an early but extremely important stage in preparing the new Plan.

The consultation closes on Monday 17 August 2026

Why does the new County Durham Plan matter?

The County Durham Plan will influence decisions which will shape our county for many years to come.

It will help determine where new homes are built, which areas are protected from development, what kinds of housing is provided, how new Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) applications are dealt with, where businesses and employment are encouraged and how development relates to transport and other infrastructure.

It will also have a major role in protecting our natural environment, supporting our city centre and High Street, safeguarding our heritage and determining the future of the Green Belt.

Decisions taken through the new Plan could therefore have consequences lasting for many generations.

This initial consultation is particularly important because it is helping to establish the principles and options which will inform the emerging Plan. It is much better for residents and communities to make their voices heard now, while those choices are being considered, rather than waiting until the Plan is much further advanced.

The City of Durham Parish’s overriding message in its response is that the new Plan must accommodate the genuine needs of County Durham while protecting what makes Durham such a special place in which to live, work, study and visit.

What is the Parish Council asking for?

Some of the main features of the Parish Council’s formal response to this consultation include:

• An unequivocal position that the Green belt must be protected and a recognition that there are more than sufficient brownfield sites to deliver the housing numbers required for County Durham.
• A request that Aykley Wood (site 287471) be removed immediately from consideration for housing and protect it as strategic green and ecological infrastructure.
• A request to link all new development to sustainable transport and infrastructure, including the proposed reopening of the Leamside Line.
• A request to focus first on completing the substantial pipeline of already-permitted housing and existing strategic allocations, including PBSA developments.
• A request to deliver the right mix of housing, not simply more executive housing – require substantially more affordable/social rented, smaller, accessible and specialist homes.
• A request to retain and strengthen HMO controls, including the 10% threshold, anti-clustering and anti-sandwiching rules (the latter two currently do not apply to Durham City).
• A request for a new local planning policy to safeguard existing housing stock from being sub-divided into two or more separate C3 dwellinghouses (most often used by developers to circumvent Policy 16).
• A request to put climate change, biodiversity, nature recovery and supporting Durham’s green and blue infrastructure at the heart of the new Local Plan.
• A request to introduce a new policy supporting the introduction of EV charging to properties without in-curtilage parking.
• A request to strengthen Durham City’s economic and city-centre role – recognising Durham City as the principal centre in County Durham and to prioritise the Aykley Heads/Durham Innovation District for high-value employment.
• A new policy recognising that an improved public realm can support a thriving High Street; with a specific reference to the regeneration of the Market Place in Durham City.
• A request to remove the existing Policy which prohibits the change of tourism accommodation into permanent housing (this is too restrictive).
• A request to extend the heritage protections afforded to the existing registered Battlefield at Neville’s Cross beyond the current boundary identified in the existing Local Plan.

This is your opportunity to have a say

Whilst the Parish Council has submitted a comprehensive response, our response should not be the only voice Durham County Council hears from our city.

We encourage residents, residents’ associations, community organisations, environmental groups, businesses and other interested organisations to look at the consultation and submit their own views.

You do not have to be a planning expert and you do not have to answer every question. If there is an issue that matters particularly to you – whether that is the Green Belt, Aykley Wood Nature Reserve, housing, HMOs, transport, nature, heritage or the future of Durham city centre – please make your views known.

How to respond

You can read the consultation documents and submit your response through Durham County Council’s Let’s Talk County Durham consultation website:

County Durham Plan – Scoping Document Consultation

The deadline for responses is Monday 17 August 2026.

Please do not leave it too late.

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