Pay and display bays

Payments and operating times

During the operational hours you may park in a pay and display bay if you pay the charge and clearly display your ticket or a valid permit. You do not need to have a permit to park at Seaham. Pay and display machines accept 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1 and £2 coins.

Full guidance on payment and operating hours are found on the front of the machine. The time your vehicle can stay until is printed on the ticket. Do not park in a pay and display bay for longer than you have paid for as you may be issued with a parking fine.

Picking up and dropping off passengers

You can stop in a pay and display bay to pick up or drop off passengers, but waiting for passengers is not allowed. You must stay with your vehicle at all times unless your passengers need help getting in or out of your vehicle.

Loading and unloading

Loading and unloading is allowed from a pay and display bay. Loading and unloading is considered to be taking place where items are being taken to and from a vehicle. It does not cover packing, unpacking or assembly, stopping to have a conversation or going to the toilet. As soon as the last item is loaded or unloaded, the vehicle must be moved or a pay and display ticket purchased.

Exceeding the time limit

If you do not return to your vehicle by the expiry time displayed on the ticket, a parking fine may be issued.

The pay and display machine is out of order

If you find a pay and display machine out of order, please contact the Parking Shop to report the fault. The telephone number can be found on the pay and display machine. Please buy a ticket from another machine on the same street.

Parking slightly over the bay markings

You must park completely inside the bay markings and you should not use the space unless all of your vehicle can fit inside the bay markings. Any vehicle parked with at least one wheel outside the bay markings may be issued with a parking fine.

Blue Badge holders

Blue Badge holders can park in on-street pay and display bays without charge or time restriction. 

Parking permits

Parking permits are also available for residents, carers, health workers and businesses within the Durham City Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ). 

Parking bay suspensions

You can apply to have a parking bay to be suspended in advance for:

• building and demolition work
• excavations in or next to a parking bay
• work by utility companies in or next to a parking bay
• to allow removals from and to a property
• weddings and funerals (a maximum of one official vehicle)

We require 7 days notice. 

We will suspend the area requested, or an equivalent area nearby. We cannot guarantee that we can keep bays free.

Suspensions may only be granted for the duration of the activity taking place and not for earlier preparations or later personal use, eg:

• they can be granted for placing skips on a road, however if the skip is removed, the suspension will stop immediately, even though an application may have been requested for longer
• where an occupier of a premises requires a suspension to undertake an event such as a wedding or funeral, the suspension must only remain in place during the event

Work or private vehicles are not permitted to park in suspended bays, and doing so could result in a parking fine.

Costs

Each request will include:

• an administration charge per continuous suspension request: £25 to set up one continuous suspension (if there are any breaks or gaps, we will treat it as 2 or more separate applications and you must pay the administration charge for each application)
• a daily charge: £15 per day, per bay (for on street parking spaces not marked as individual bays, the cost is £15 per 5.5m length (or part thereof))

Changes to a suspension start date (if within 7 days of the required suspension) will cost £25.

Example cost breakdown showing administration charge and daily charge: