Peterlee Strategic Place Plan

Help shape Peterlee town centre's future

We are starting work in Peterlee 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 Peterlee 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 Peterlee to be in the future.

There are no existing ideas in mind, this vision will be directly shaped by the people of Peterlee 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 Peterlee

Peterlee was established as a New Town in the late 1940s to provide modern housing and improved living conditions for miners from surrounding villages. Positioned on a plateau near Castle Eden Dene, the town is well connected to neighbouring communities including Horden, Shotton Colliery, Easington and Castle Eden.

The town was designed with a clearly defined retail and commercial centre, complemented by residential neighbourhoods and dedicated industrial zones. Its planned origins have created an open, landscaped environment supported by a strong network of public and community services, offering significant advantages for both residents and businesses.

Peterlee boasts a robust and diverse industrial base, anchored by several major estates: North West Industrial Estate, South West Industrial Estate, Seaview Estate, and Bracken Hill Business Park. These sites host a wide range of manufacturing and engineering operations alongside traditional industries and support services. Collectively, they position Peterlee as the third-largest industrial market in County Durham, benefiting from established infrastructure, a skilled workforce, and excellent connectivity via the A19, providing strong transport links across the wider Northeast region.

In addition to its economic strengths, Peterlee enjoys proximity to Castle Eden Dene and the Durham Coast, areas that have seen significant environmental improvements and are now popular visitor destinations. These natural assets reinforce Peterlee’s role as the service centre it was originally intended to be.

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 Peterlee town centre boundary. The area is bounded by Surtees Road, Bede Way and St Cuthbert’s Way. The north west edge of the boundary takes in the Essington Way Retail Park and extends to the public service buildings at St Aidans Way.

It also includes some of the areas linked to the town centre and which will have an influence on the Vision for the town including industrial estates, East Durham College, Peterlee Community Hospital, Horden Railway Station, Durham Heritage Coast, Apollo Pavilion and the Castle Eden Dean Nature Reserve.

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 Peterlee Strategic Place Plan.

Phase one of this consultation will close on 26 March 2026.

For more information contact CED@durham.gov.uk

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