Transport policy

These policies help us decide which pavements and roads need investment and guides council spending when supporting public transport, parking areas or better cycling routes.

Local Transport Plan 3 (LTP3)

The Local Transport Plan 3 (LTP3) is County Durham's third and current Local Transport Plan for the period from 2011 onwards. This is an overarching strategy for all our parking policies and the key documents are:

• LTP3 - Transport Strategy (PDF, 19.0mb)
• LTP3 - Appendices (PDF, 8.5mb)
• LTP3 - Delivery Plan (PDF, 6.9mb)
• LTP3 - Consultation Report (PDF, 6.4mb)  
• Local Transport Plan (LTP) 3 assessments

North East Transport Plan (NETP)

The Local Transport Plan will soon be replaced by the North East Transport Plan. This is currently being drafted by ourselves in partnership with the North East Combined Authority (NECA). This will be out for public consultation in 2018.

Ahead of the full policies in the North East Transport Plan, the North East Transport Manifesto sets out a vision for better transport in the North East.

• North East Transport Manifesto (PDF, 3.1mb)

Supporting Transport Policy - Adopted Documents

Parking and Accessibility Standards 2019

The standards for parking and accessibility have been devised to help everyone understand how much parking space is required on development sites. They are designed to make sure there is enough parking at our homes and for our shops and employment locations. A higher provision of Electric Vehicle Charging Points will also be required at places of employment, supermarkets and other retail development. The standards also have been designed to encourage the more sustainable modes of travel including walking, cycling and use of public transport.

• County Durham Parking and Accessibility Standards 2019 (PDF, 3.8mb)

Durham City Sustainable Transport Delivery Plan 2019-35

The Durham City Sustainable Transport Delivery Plan (DCSTDP) provides a framework to deliver improvements to the Durham City transport network in order to promote sustainable travel. The Delivery Plan is a mixture of short and longer-term measures and supports both the existing and proposed Local Plan for the City, the existing Local Transport Plan and also the Durham City Air Quality Action Plan. 

• Durham Sustainable Transport Delivery Plan 2019-2035 (PDF, 4.4mb)

Durham City Sustainable Transport Delivery Plan Progress Report 2019

The DCSTDP progress report documents progress on the 'Delivery Plan' since the DC STDP was launched in 2016 and sets out progress in 2019. The report shows success with the ongoing 'Living Streets walk to' projects with more children walking to school, new travel plans being developed because of major development sites and better walking and cycling infrastructure in the City. Part 2 is the second progress report published in October 2019 and looks forward to 2020/21 and beyond.

• Durham City Sustainable Transport Delivery Plan Progress Report 2019 (PDF, 529.3kb)
• Durham City Sustainable Transport Delivery Plan Progress Report 2019 - Part 2 (PDF, 392.7kb)

The Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP)

This is a statutory document that enables highways authorities to create a more modern access and rights of way network. 

The third ROWIP covers the period 2015 - 2018 and is called 'Walk, Cycle Ride'. Our vision is to develop a high quality path network fit for 21st century travel, recreation and enjoyment. It prioritises resources to focus on key access areas, improving paths which serve specific purposes and with greatest demand. The ROWIP and more information on rights of way can be found on our Rights of Way Improvement Plan page.

Parking Policies

The revised County Durham Parking Policies (2016 - 2019) was approved and adopted by our cabinet in July 2016. It is intended that these policies will cover a three year period to the end of 2019. The purpose of the County Durham Parking Policies is to set out the key policies with regard to the provision of both on-street and off-street parking and for the civil parking operation. 

• Parking Policy 2016 - 2019 (PDF, 9.2mb)

County-wide transport planning

As part of our ongoing desire to understand how traffic flows in the county, and what impact it has, we commission travel surveys or analyse or own data. In 2015, we collected data about Durham City.

• Durham City Travel Counts 2016 (PDF, 2.5mb)

Transport Asset Management Plan (TAMP) and Highways Maintenance Management Plan (HMP)

Local councils are required to demonstrate that they are making best use of their property and other assets through asset management plans. The preparation of a Transport Asset Management Plan (TAMP) for transport-related assets, including the highway has being carried out. The processes behind how we fulfil this responsibility are fully detailed in our Highway Maintenance Plan (HMP) The latest versions of both these documents can be found on our How we look after our roads page.

Speed Management Strategy

Speed management is a shared responsibility between us and the Police. Our Speed Management Strategy sets out how speed limits are determined for public roads. It explains how we manage appropriate speed limits across the county and address speeding issues in partnership with local communities and the police.

• Speed Management Strategy (PDF, 806.6kb)