The Durham City congestion charge was the first congestion charge to be introduced in the UK in October 2002.[1][2]
Durham County Council introduced the toll for drivers using 1,000-year-old Saddler Street in the city centre which stands on the peninsula above the River Wear.[3] This is the only public access road leading to the World Heritage Site of Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle.[1] It was mainly introduced to reduce traffic flow using the road.[1]
Prior to the introduction of the congestion charge around 3000 vehicles used the road on a daily basis.[1] The narrow street, built centuries ago to cater for nothing bigger than a horse and cart, is used by up to 17,000 pedestrians a day, and, according to Durham County Council a "conflict between the two was causing traffic congestion, environmental problems and road safety hazards, as well as detracting from the experience of the World Heritage Site".[1] A year after the charge had been introduced, figures showed vehicle activity using the road fell by 85%.[1] Traffic is controlled by a rising bollard in the road, which is monitored by CCTV and linked to an intercom system.[3]
It was reported in late April 2007 that since October 2002, the retractable bollard has been responsible for "300 instances of car damage".[4] According to Durham County Council, "the vast majority are very, very minor, resulting in damage such as a bent number plate."[4]
On 22nd January 2011, The Northern Echo reported that Durham County Council was consulting on replacing the bollard with an Automatic number plate recognition system.[5]