AN architect has promised the planned replacement of a 1960s riverside “eyesore” in Durham will do the city justice.
Millburngate House, on the banks of the River Wear in the city, is likely to be pulled down within the next three years as council chiefs look at plans to transform the riverside.
Yesterday at a public consultation in Durham Town Hall, architect Andrew Clarke of urban regeneration specialists Taylor Young, promised that new developments on the riverside would “take into account views of the World Heritage Site of Durham Castle and Cathedral, be in keeping with the surroundings in Durham and include flood protection”.
Landscaping including planting trees along the riverside and building a mix of apartments and cafes, are seen as a way to improve that particular stretch of the riverside.
Millburngate House was built in the 1960s with no need for planning permission to house the National Savings and Investments (NS&I) and Passport Office. It was later described by architectural historian Alec Clifton Taylor as “an assertive lump of hideous concrete that could only have been put up by a Government department exempt, as it should certainly not be, from obtaining planning permission; and it is a disgrace”.
Yesterday Mr Clarke promised a more visually-pleasing future for the city’s riverside.
The architect said: “We are looking for feedback from the public but we are very aware that any new development on the riverside must complement existing buildings.”
Meanwhile ambitious plans to transform County Durham into an “economic powerhouse” go on display next week.
Under the multi-billion pound economic masterplan being drawn up by planning chiefs, and which has the backing of property tycoon and former Newcastle United chairman Sir John Hall, the Aykley Heads area of Durham City would be transformed into a business hub capable of attracting international firms.
But to attract companies to Durham, the council plans to invest nearly £100m on roads and 5,000 new houses in and around the city, and a further 23,000 homes throughout the remainder of the county within the next 20 years.
Sir John said: “I have always regarded Durham County Council as the sleeping giant, with great potential, and becoming a unitary authority means the council can help County Durham reach that potential.”
But the proposals have not been universally welcomed, especially as they include the building on swathes of green belt land and building two new bypasses to the north and west of the city, both which would cut through open countryside.
Opponents include Keith and Maggie Bell, who own the medieval Crook Hall and gardens on the north bank of the Wear in Durham City.
Mrs Bell said: “Durham is an attractive city with beautiful surrounding countryside.
“To despoil that would reduce its appeal to the type of affluent in-comers the county wishes to attract.”
Cabinet member for regeneration and economic development, Neil Foster, said: “Development of The County Durham Plan is an ongoing process looking at vital issues like housing and retail, business and job creation.
“We are now at the stage where we are setting out how much will happen and where, so it’s really important to us that people come and get involved.”
Plans will be on display on Wednesday, at Annfield Plain Library from 10am to noon; then on Thursday, at Langley Park’s Woodview Community Centre, from 9am to 11am, and at Chester-le-Street, Horden and Wolsingham libraries from 2pm to 4pm.
