PLANS for a park and ride scheme to ease congestion in the centre of Durham have suffered a hitch.

But Durham County Council officials said they were confident the project will still come to fruition.

At the end of 2000, the Labour-run council secured the provisional offer of £8.3m of government funding to build three sites on the outskirts of the city.

The county council hoped its park and ride scheme - the earmarked sites are at Belmont, Howlands Farm and Sniperley - would encourage motorists to leave their cars at the city's outskirts and take buses into the centre from the car parks.

But the proposed £4.6m, 600-space facility near the A1(M) at Belmont has run into a problems over the purchase of the land involved.

Now the council is to make a renewed bid to buy the Belmont land either by negotiation or compulsory purchase.

The council tried to negotiate the purchase of the site and sought a compulsory purchase order to reduce delays if a deal could not be reached.

Landowner and developer George Wimpey Limited, which has an option to buy the land, lodged objections.

A public inquiry into the wrangle resulted in a planning inspector recommending that the order not be confirmed by the Government.

The inspector said there was no certainty that the Belmont site would get funding because it was below a £5m threshold.

The council's environment and technical services director, Chris Tunstall, told the authority's cabinet: "There is no reason in policy or funding terms why the full park and ride proposal should not now be pursued.

"Planning permission and land acquisition should not be sought for all three sites at the same time," he said.

Officials are working on detailed proposals for the two other sites in an attempt to acquire them.

A spokesman for the Labour-run authority said: "It is taking longer than we anticipated but we are hopeful it will come to fruition.

"The scheme has been held up but we are committed to it. It is all go as far as we are concerned.''

In recent years, parking in the city has become more difficult following the loss of city council car parks and the introduction of on-street parking charges.

Traders in the centre are particularly worried that the difficulties are stopping people from shopping in the city.