WORK has started on a £10m park-and-ride scheme designed to help improve the flow of traffic in one of the region's most congested city centres.

The narrow streets of the medieval centre of Durham City have struggled to cope with the increasing demands of modern commuting, leading to peak-time congestion and notorious parking problems.

Yesterday, Durham City MP Gerry Steinberg conducted the ground-breaking ceremony at Belmont, the first of three proposed park-and-ride facilities which will ring the city.

The development is the third stage of a plan to cut congestion in the city, following the earlier imposition of on-street parking restrictions and the introduction of the country's first congestion charge - the toll road through the city's peninsula area.

The three park-and-ride sites are situated on the main arterial routes at Belmont, the Cock of the North and Sniperley.

With nearly 1,200 parking spaces available, and room for a further 600 at Belmont, if demand requires it, planners at Durham County Council believe the project can make a significant contribution to reducing congestion.

From Christmas, when all three facilities are expected to be completed, commuters, shoppers and visitors will be able to leave vehicles in secure, camera-controlled car parks and complete their journey by bus.

Councillor Don Ross, the county council deputy leader, said: "The scheme will result in easier access to the city centre, reduced congestion in the city at peak periods, reduced conflict for the limited supply of long-stay parking spaces and a fast and efficient high- quality bus service.

"I am sure it will quickly become a popular and convenient way of getting into town without the hassle of finding a parking space, just as it has in many congested town centres."