145 new homes to be built at Lambton park in County Durham

Housebuilder Bellway will deliver the properties at Hedworths Green at Lambton Park, on the 1,200-acre Lambton Estate, near Chester-le-Street. The estate is historically the ancestral seat of the Earls of Durham and home to Biddick Hall and Lambton Castle, which date back to the 18th and 19th centuries respectively.

And in the 1970s the park was converted into the popular tourist attraction Lambton Lion park, which saw visitors from around the UK come to County Durham. 

The development will feature a range of two-bedroom apartments and three, four and five-bedroom houses, alongside public open space including a village green.

The new homes are situated on the site of the former Lambton Lion Park, which was open at the Lambton Estate between 1972 and 1980 and was popular with visitors who flocked to see lions, hippos, giraffes, elephants and zebra.

It comes after outline planning permission for the redevelopment of the lion park site – including approximately 400 new homes, as well as office space, retail and community facilities – was granted in 2016.

Visitors edge past the lions at Lambton in July 1975 (Image: The Northern Echo)

Elephants get up close and personal in the lion park (Image: The Northern Echo)

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Jon Horan, managing director of Bellway Durham, said: “We have worked incredibly hard on this project with the Lambton Park team to bring forward their vision for this phase of the development. Centred around a large village green, the scheme delivers much-needed new housing and reflects the historic surroundings of Lambton Park.

“Residents, who will get to live in an incredibly desirable location, will witness the restoration of an historic site first-hand with an ongoing programme bringing key features of the park into sustainable new uses. Homebuyers will also be able to make use of the eight miles of public footpaths on the estate to explore the nature, landscape and heritage of the area.”

“This is a very exciting project helping to bring new life into a much-loved historic site which holds a special place in the hearts of local people. We anticipate that the wide range of properties we are delivering at the site will appeal to a variety of purchasers.”