Durham County Council · Unitary authority
Transport Statements and Assessments in Durham
What transport evidence a Durham planning application needs, the parking standards that apply, and the policies an assessment should address.
Which document do you need?
National policy asks for a Transport Statement or a Transport Assessment wherever a development will generate significant amounts of movement.
Transport Statement
A shorter document for smaller schemes where transport issues are limited: access, parking, trips and sustainable travel.
Transport Assessment
A full assessment for larger schemes: trip generation, network impact, junction capacity and mitigation.
Parking standards
The standards Durham County Council applies, taken from the source document below and checked against it row by row.
| Use | Area and size | Car parking |
|---|---|---|
| Dwelling houses | 1 | 1 per dwelling |
| Dwelling houses | 2 | 2 per dwelling |
| Dwelling houses | 3 | 2 per dwelling |
| Dwelling houses | 4 | 3 per dwelling |
| Dwelling houses | 5 | 3 per dwelling |
| Dwelling houses | 6+ | 4 per dwelling |
| Residential Care/Nursing Homes/Sheltered housing | 1 space per 3 units/beds | |
| Office Development and Business Parks | 1 space per 25m2 GFA | |
| General Retail (Large, >1000m2) | 1 space per 25m2 GFA | |
| General Retail (Medium, <1000m2) | 1 space per 25m2 GFA | |
| General Retail (Small, <200m2) | 1 space per 25m2 GFA | |
| Petrol Stations with Retail | 1 space per 33m2 GFA | |
| Retail Parks (including food and non-food uses) | 1 space per 20m2 GFA | |
| Builders Merchants | 1 space per 100m2 GFA | |
| Bulky Goods, e.g. DIY, cash and carry | 1 space per 25m2 GFA | |
| Car Sales | 1 space per 25m2 GFA | |
| Caravan and Camp Sites | 1 space per pitch AND 1 space per 2 members of staff AND 1 visitor space per 10 pitches | |
| Cinemas/Theatres | 1 space per 3 members of staff AND 1 space per 12.5m2 of public space | |
| Community Centres | 1 space per 16m2 of public space AND 1 space per 2 members of staff | |
| Distribution | 1 space per 33m2 GFA | |
| Doctors/Dentist/Other health practitioners | 1 space per treatment room AND 1 space per 2 members of staff | |
| Fitness Clubs and Sports Facilities | 1 space per 25m2 GFA | |
| Further/Higher Education Colleges | 1 space per full time member of staff AND 1 space per 4 students | |
| Garage Repair/Servicing | 1 space per member of staff AND 1 space per 25m2 GFA | |
| Garden Centres | 1 space per 12.5m2 GFA | |
| Hospitals | 1 space per 33m2 of public space AND 1 space per 5 members of staff | |
| Hot Food Takeaway | 1 space per 2 members of staff AND 1 space per 25m2 GFA | |
| Hotels/Motels/Guest Houses | 1 space per bedroom | |
| Light Industrial and Industrial Estates/Units | 1 space per 50m2 GFA | |
| Places of Worship | 1 space per 150m2 | |
| Primary and Secondary Schools Nurseries | 1 space per full time member of staff AND 1 visitor space per 50 pupils | |
| Pub/Restaurant/Cafe | 1 space 8m2 of public space | |
| Public Interchanges Major Interchanges | Subject to site by site analysis and dependent on-site characteristics | |
| Purpose-Built Student Accommodation | 1 per 5 members of staff | |
| Purpose-Built Student Accommodation | Durham City CPZ | No requirement within Durham City CPZ |
| Purpose-Built Student Accommodation | Outside CPZ | 1 space per 15 students |
| Supermarkets (Above 1000m2) | 1 space per 20m2 GFA | |
| Supermarkets (Below 1000m2) | 1 space per 12.5m2 GFA | |
| Warehousing or Storage | 1 space per 100m2 GFA |
| Use | Long-stay cycle parking | Short-stay cycle parking |
|---|---|---|
| Residential Care/Nursing Homes/Sheltered housing | 0.05 per bedroom | 0.05 per residential unit |
| Office Development and Business Parks | 1 space per 200m2 | 1 per 1000m2 |
| General Retail (Large, >1000m2) | 1 space per 500m2 | 1 short stay spaces for visitors per 250m2 |
| General Retail (Medium, <1000m2) | 1 space per 200m2 | 1 short stay spaces for visitors per 200m2 |
| General Retail (Small, <200m2) | 1 space per 100m2 | 2 short stay spaces for visitors |
| Petrol Stations with Retail | 1 space per 100m2 | No requirement |
| Retail Parks (including food and non-food uses) | 1 space per 500m2 | 1 short stay spaces for visitors per 250m2 |
| Builders Merchants | 1 space per 500m2 | No requirement |
| Bulky Goods, e.g. DIY, cash and carry | 1 space per 500m2 | No requirement |
| Caravan and Camp Sites | 1 space per 5 members of staff | 1 space per pitch |
| Cinemas/Theatres | 1 space per 5 members of staff | Greatest of: 1 per 50m2 or 1 per 30 seats |
| Community Centres | 1 space per 5 members of staff | 1 short stay space per 50m2 |
| Distribution | 1 space per 500m2 | 1 per 1000m2 |
| Doctors/Dentist/Other health practitioners | 1 space per 5 members of staff | 1 short stay space per 5 consulting rooms |
| Fitness Clubs and Sports Facilities | 1 space per 5 members of staff | 1 space per 50m2 |
| Further/Higher Education Colleges | Separate provision for staff and students, Based on Travel Plan mode share targets but minimum: 1 space per 10 pupils and 1 space per 20 members of staff | Dependent on Travel Plan |
| Garage Repair/Servicing | 1 space per 500m2 | 1 per 1000m2 |
| Garden Centres | 1 space per 500m2 | No requirement |
| Hospitals | 1 space per 5 members of staff | 1 short stay space per 5 consulting rooms |
| Hotels/Motels/Guest Houses | 1 space per 5 members of staff AND 2 spaces per 25 bedrooms | 1 space per 50m2 |
| Light Industrial and Industrial Estates/Units | 1 space per 500m2 | 1 per 1000m2 |
| Places of Worship | 1 space per 5 members of staff | 1 space per 50m2 |
| Primary and Secondary Schools Nurseries | Separate provision for staff and students, Based on Travel Plan mode share targets but minimum: 1 space per 10 pupils and 1 space per 20 members of staff | Dependent on Travel Plan |
| Pub/Restaurant/Cafe | 1 space per 5 members of staff | 1 per 50m2 |
| Public Interchanges Major Interchanges | Dependent on-site characteristics | 1 per 200 daily users |
| Purpose-Built Student Accommodation | 1 sheltered and secure long stay parking space per bedroom | – |
| Supermarkets (Above 1000m2) | 1 space per 500m2 | 1 short stay spaces for visitors per 250m2 |
| Supermarkets (Below 1000m2) | 1 space per 200m2 | 1 short stay spaces for visitors per 200m2 |
| Warehousing or Storage | 1 space per 500m2 | 1 per 1000m2 |
Source: Parking and Accessibility SPDAdopted October 2023Figures checked against the published document on 6 November 2026Selected tables: the source document has the full standards
Policies your assessment should address
The transport policies of the development plan documents in the summary panel. A neighbourhood plan, or a plan for one part of Durham, may also apply to your site.
County Durham Plan
- 21Delivering Sustainable Transport
- 22Durham City Sustainable Transport
- 23Allocating and Safeguarding Transport Routes and Facilities
- 24Provision of Transport Infrastructure
- 25Developer Contributions
- 31Amenity and Pollution
- 48Safeguarding Minerals Sites, Minerals Related Infrastructure and Waste Management Sites
This page summarises adopted policy and links to the source documents. It is not legal advice: always confirm a figure against the adopted document before relying on it.