Durham County Council defends Seaham parking charges, citing increased visitor numbers and business occupancy

Despite concerns over the impact of parking charges on local businesses, a council has robustly defended Seaham, stating it is "doing really well". Durham County Council responded to warnings that traders are financially worse off since the introduction of parking fees earlier this year.

Councillor Kevin Shaw, of Dawdon division, urged the council to disclose the financial impact on daytime businesses in the seaside town, particularly those located in areas where parking charges have been implemented. However, the council's ruling coalition refuted the claim, asserting that the area has seen improvement due to an increase in visitors.

Councillor Elizabeth Scott, cabinet member for economy and partnerships, stated at a full council meeting: "Having provided long-term investment to reposition Seaham’s economy we continue to provide support to businesses. The most recent vacancy figure in Seaham, measured in summer 2024, shows a 92.8 per cent occupancy, which is the highest in the county. We do not and should not track the individual and financial performance of every business. However, we use other data to provide us with the performance and vitality of our main centres. This includes both measures of property vacancies and an assessment of footfall."

Cllr Shaw had previously warned that the parking charges would be a step back for the town. "Bringing in charges will deter visitors and will massively impact local businesses and residents," he said.

“Seaham significantly relies on the visitor economy, as the town centre has struggled over a number of years, right the way back to the pit closures. Retail has failed to revive the town centre despite massive intervention.”

But Liberal Democrat Cllr Scott pointed to recent work carried out by the council at Seaham Marina and praised the impact of events such as the food festival. She added: “We routinely assess all available data for Seaham, and our other towns, to ensure we can support policy and programme development to ensure our centres are effective leisure destinations.

“We will continue to provide support to new businesses and those seeking to diversify. We remain committed to supporting businesses in our town centres including thriving centres such as Seaham and will continue to work as we develop strategic place plans to identify future priorities and opportunities within towns across the county.”

In a later response to Labour’s Cllr Shaw, Cllr Scott added: “Seaham’s actually doing really well.”

Join our County Durham WhatsApp community

Join our County Durham WhatsApp community for all the latest news County Durham news sent direct to your phone.

To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.

No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.

We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.

If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.

If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN