Belmont, County Durham

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Belmont is a formerly separate village in County Durham, England that is now incorporated into, and a suburb of, Durham City. It was initially a coal mining village and is situated to the north-east of the city centre, just east of the A1(M) motorway. The village forms the nucleus of the Belmont parish. This village is ever growing, with a new shopping centre being built hosting major chain retailers, including B&Q, Argos and Pizza Hut.

There are three pubs, several shops, two school sites and a church in the village, as well as many local businesses. The village is also on the bus route from Sunderland to Durham.

The Church was bombed in the Second World War because the German pilots mistook it for Durham Cathedral (in the fog)^{[citation needed]}.

Since 1994, Belmont has been the site of New Ferens Park, home of Unibond League (and former Football League club Durham City AFC.

In 2004, 'Soccarena' was opened in the nearby Belmont Industrial Estate, providing eight 6-a-side soccer pitches for aspiring footballers of all ages. The facility operates a number of different league formats, using the top divisions (Premiership) and lower divisions (Championship) for each night of the week.

[edit] Events

On 15-Nov-2007 there was an attempt to ram-raid the cash machine by driving a stolen van into it. Unfortunately for the criminals involved their van burst into flames and they did not manage to get any cash before they had to leave because of the police. The police stated that the criminals were last seen running into Gilesgate through the park at Belmont Community Centre.