AN attempt is to be made to sort out the confusing muddle of parking restrictions in the centre of Barnard Castle.

Durham County Council is delivering about 3,000 leaflets to homes, businesses and public buildings in the town explaining the proposals, which will be enforceable by the police, and seeking comments.

These will be backed up by a public exhibition in Teesdale District Council chamber on Friday, December 10, from 10am-7pm when officers from the county council will be on hand to answer questions.

The main effect of the proposals will be to standardise restricted on-street parking and on the cobbled areas to a maximum of two hours between 9am-6pm. This follows a review of the current restrictions in Lower Galgate, Market Place and the Horsemarket, which range from 30 minutes to two hours, often on the same stretch of road.

Existing no waiting restrictions would also be made all the same, resulting in the swapping of No Waiting 9am-6pm for No Waiting At Any Time signs.

Chris Tunstall, the authority's deputy chief executive, said: "We've been working with the district council for a good many years to try to sort out the inconsistencies."

He referred to the variety of restrictions in the core zones of the town centre, which had been introduced over many years in response to separate issues. "They can be both confusing for motorists to understand and difficult for the police to enforce," he said. "We've tried to find proposals that will generate a turnover of vehicles, which means more people coming into the town with the likelihood that they put money into the local economy."

Although the council is suggesting consolidating all existing traffic regulation orders outside the core zone into one new order, only Galgate, Market Place and the Horsemarket would see any change.

As well as making it easier for shoppers and visitors to find parking spaces, the proposals will still leave unrestricted parking bays in Galgate for commuters and local shop workers. Provision would be made for loading and unloading in time-restricted bays, with existing loading bays unaffected. Blue badge holders would have unlimited parking in time-restricted bays.