Durham City Park

Land Ownership

Site Description

Aykley Heads in Durham City covers around 32 hectares of land and comprises a wide variety of landscape and built development and constitutes a link between town and country.  It is already a successful business and employment location, providing a home to over 30 businesses in a range of professional and scientific sectors as well as business support organisations such as the North East Chamber of Commerce.   It also has recently attracted the accounting firm Mazars, the NHS and Atom Bank. 

In total, development of the Strategic Employment Site has been identified as having the potential to accommodate several thousand new jobs and re-balance the nature of existing jobs on the site which is currently heavily reliant on the public sector.  The development will enhance Durham City’s role as an important employment centre and a location of choice for the economy’s growth sectors.

The site can accommodate a range of development plots, totalling almost 18 ha of land with the plots ranging in size from 0.5 ha to 5.8ha, delivering approximately 700,000 sq feet (65,000 sqm) of new office floorspace.  The site will be further enhanced by providing a range of recreational and leisure opportunities.  The open parkland will be improved to provide new and improved cycle routes, footpaths and nature trails, connecting the site to the City Centre and residential areas.  

Site Area/Floor Area

Planning Status

Plot D (Atom Bank) – Planning permission granted.  

Development Potential And Regeneration Benefits

Northern Zone, Plots C, D & E

Total Proposed Development: 9,660sqm NIA

The Northern portion of Aykley Heads occupies the land to the south of the road which runs east to west and provides access to the new police HQ building within the site.  It has a more defined characteristic of building development than the rest of the site, taken largely from the Grade II Listed Aykley House, dating from the 1700s.  This is a domestic scale cluster of buildings and external is largely finished externally in a rough render painted a yellow/stone colour.  There are three other buildings in this zone which use a similar finish and incorporate other similar features as listed below:

·         Small more domestic scale

·         Use of stone coloured render

·         External timber boards

·         Roofscapes, with timber supports

·         Secondary pallete of mid grey (slates, windows, rainwater)

·         Set within woodland setting or surrounded by trees

Park Gateway, Plots A & B

Total Proposed Development: 35,390sqm NIA

This area represents the entrance gateway to Aykley Heads and is already known by the general public as the entrance to County Hall. The large roundabout on the A63 marks the entry point into the site. Currently, the 8 storey County Hall sits at the back of the site and the ground is largely flat in between, with some parking and landscape features creating the arrival space.  The proposals aim to retain the same overall scale from the road, so the buildings have been moved closer, but kept to a reduced height overall.  Typical characteristics include:

·         Large object buildings / pavilions

·         Prominent landscape backdrop

·         Clusters of trees defining large open spaces

·         Retain and improve landscape arrival space

Parkland Plateau, Plot F

Total Proposed Development: 15,028sqm NIA

This site is largely composed of a flat plateau of made ground, with a prominent edge to the southeast. The back of the site, to the northwest, is bordered by trees which form part of the central woodland spine.  The central part of Aykley Heads is a natural radial point for the buildings within this site. Typical characteristics include:

·         Flat site with prominent edge to the south east

·         Visible site from the A690 and railway line

·         Good views back into town centre and to Cathedral

·         Opportunities for structured landscape and earth sheltering and green roofs to blend buildings into the landscape

Southern Gateway, DLI & Plot G

Total Proposed Development: 5,440sqm NIA

DLI occupies a pavilion site within Aykley Heads nestled in the trees, overlooking a feature pond and this destination/gateway location would be suitable for a range of possible uses.

Site G is a prominent gateway for the station and also marks the transition of the edge of the urban core into the suburbs and parkland beyond.  Typical characteristics include:

·         Extension of city centre

·         Gateway link through Railway Station and Millburngate

Infrastructure Needs

Still to be identified.