IN October 1960, Durham City and Durham County Council unveiled proposals for the improvement of the city's road system.

The primary aim was to take the choking traffic out of the city's busy market square, but it was hoped that the new road system might create sites for shops, car parks and office buildings, including a new shopping centre on the Millburngate side of the river. The proposals took the form of a five-point plan.

The first two points of this plan would bring the most significant changes to the city's landscape as they involved the construction of two bridges across the River Wear.

These are the bridges we know today as Millburngate Bridge and New Elvet Bridge.

The first two points of the scheme also discussed the construction of the roundabouts and roads associated with the two bridges, including the "Leazes Road" that would bypass Claypath near the college of St Hild and St Bede.

At Claypath, an underpass would have to be built to link the two bridges together and successfully bypass the market place.

Unfortunately, the underpass would require the destruction of the shops and houses that linked Claypath to the market place and this would inevitably destroy the enclosed nature of the market place.

This is still very apparent today and the historic St Nicholas Church sits uncomfortably overlooking the great hole that exists between the market place and Claypath.

The other three sections of the development plan dealt with the construction of a road along Framwellgate Peth, a road near St Godric's Church and a pedestrian bridge across the road to the railway station.

However, it was the bridges that would bring the biggest change.

A model presenting the plans to the people of Durham was unveiled by council officials, and although some of the developments are taken for granted today, they seemed almost futuristic to the people of this ancient city.

The Northern Echo tried to imagine how Durham would look in the future and reported with some surprise the comments of Professor Alan, of Kings' College, Newcastle, who estimated that every family would own a car within ten years.

The Echo's columnist, John North, suggested that the removal of traffic from the city centre's streets might intimidate shoppers who might "feel themselves too conspicuous in a new traffic-less precinct and not go there anymore".

It was estimated that the road developments would take four years to complete at a cost of between £3m and £4m, shared by the city council, county council and Ministry of Transport.

They were developments that were long overdue and would make a vast difference to the city's transport problems, but unfortunately, some people were adversely affected by the scheme.

Many homes and businesses would have to be relocated and the planners estimated that 150 houses, 19 businesses and 21 public buildings (including public houses) would be affected and that most of these would need to be demolished.

Many well-known Durham landmarks would fall victim of the developments in the years to come, including the Tanners Arms and Blagdon's Leather Works, in Framwellgate, and the Palace Theatre, in Walkergate, which had all been demolished by 1967.

In 1966, the former railway line from Leamside had disappeared forever and the associated Gilesgate station closed.

By 1967, the A690 from Durham to Sunderland occupied the course of the old railway line It was in this year that the first of the two road bridges, the Millburngate Bridge, opened and The Northern Echo commented rather diplomatically that it gave the city an "unusual look".

The shopping centre at Milburngate did not come until later and the contract for its construction was not awarded until 1971.

The New Elvet Bridge, which completed the Durham "through road" opened in 1976. It was this bridge that finally brought an end to the life of the market place police box which we recalled in Durham Memories last month.

Published: 07/03/2003

If you have any memories of Durham City, Chester-le-Street, Derwentside or the Durham coast, including old photos or stories of people and places you would like to share with readers of The Northern Echo, write to David Simpson, Durham Memories, The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington, DL1 1NF or email David.Simpson@nne.co.uk. All photos will be returned.