Chester-le-Street Strategic Place Plan

Help shape Chester-le-Street town centre's future

We are starting work in Chester-le-Street with our partner Urban Foresight to find out your views and ideas about how you would like to see the town develop over the next 10 years.

We want this plan to be developed with our communities, so its important that you tell us what you would like to see for the future.

We want to hear from the people who live and work in Chester-le-Street to help shape the future of your town. We want to understand your thoughts on its strengths and opportunities, what can be improved and what we’d all like Chester-le-Street to be in the future.

There are no existing ideas in mind, this vision will be directly shaped by the people of Chester-le-Street from the very beginning.  

Over the next eight weeks, we will be talking to people in the streets, at transport hubs, bus stops, shopping centres, organising drop-in meetings, listening to children and young people in schools, visiting community meetings and local organisations to find out your thoughts on the town's strengths, opportunities, and challenges, and your hopes for its future. 

About Chester-le-Street

Chester-le-Street is one of the main towns in County Durham with a population of around 54,000 residents, and has convenient access to Durham, Newcastle, Washington, Gateshead and Sunderland. The town is adjacent to the A1 and has a station on the East Coast Main Lane with great regional and national connectivity . The town is also bounded by the A167, which is one of the main local routes through County Durham to Darlington.

The good connectivity of the town is one of a number of attractions for residents, as well as access to the countryside, the large town centre, Riverside Park, and well as its' Roman and Christian built heritage (e.g. castles, viaduct, and listed buildings).

Your Views

We will use the information gathered from you alongside what we know about the town to develop a draft vision.

We will then come back and ask you again what you think about the vision and start to draw up plans to help us get there.

The boundary map shows the Chester-le-Street town centre boundary. The map is bounded by Mains Park Road and Church Chare to the East, North Burns to the North, crossing to South Burns, west side of Front Street, Station Road and Osborne Road to the West and Ropery Lane and Ashfield Terrace roundabout to the South. It also includes some of the areas linked to the town centre and which will have an influence on the Vision.

We want to know if you think we have missed any important areas which should be included in the map.

Complete our survey to enter into a free prize draw for a £100 One4All gift card. You will see the terms and conditions and privacy notice at the end of the survey.

Below shows what will happen during the project at each stage, how you can take part in the online surveys and other ways to have your say. The dates for future stages are provision and may change as the project progresses.

For more information visit Chester-le-Street Strategic Place Plan.

Phase three of this consultation will close on 19 April 2026.

For more information contact CED@durham.gov.uk

To have this in a different format contact letstalkcountydurham@durham.gov.uk.