CITY residents have described Durham County Council's choice of location for its new headquarters as "preposterous".

The authority announced its intention to move from its location at Aykley Heads to a new building on land currently occupied by the Sands car park earlier this year.

The development would be the latest in a series of major developments in the riverside area in recent years and residents living near The Sands are now objecting to the proposals, which are part of the council's ambition to create a business part at Aykley Heads by demolishing County Hall and vacating the site.

Durham parish councillor Victoria Ashfield, speaking on behalf of St Nicholas' and Gilesgate residents' associations, said: "Durham is a tiny, historic and unique city. It needs as many green spaces as it can keep.

"We have over the last five years had far too much building, mainly student residences, brought right into the city.

"We do not want another large building, and more years of building sites on the banks of the river.

"We believe it is preposterous that the county council is inflicting this on one of the the most beautiful and historic areas in the county."

There have been a number of major developments on the river banks in the area in recent years, including the construction of the new passport and National Savings and Investments (NS&I) building, which started in 2014, and the current building work at the former Milburngate House site, on the opposite side of the river.

The council, which is expected to release further details of the scheme this summer, defended the choice of site.

Sarah Robson, head of economic development and housing, said: “ We recognise that there will be a number of concerns regarding any development in the city and we will be holding public consultation events in the coming weeks so that people can come along and have a look at what is planned and hear from the architect and development company delivering the new building. As part of all this traffic assessments and management plans will be thoughtfully considered.

“Once the independent evaluation of the Aykley Heads site was clear that it did have the potential to act as a catalyst for private sector investment with the capacity to attract more than 6,000 new jobs, our need to relocate our HQ from there was paramount.

"The site on the riverside was carefully chosen following very detailed analysis and is currently car parking and the new HQ will be just one third of the size of the current one. It will sit in the vicinity of other major riverside developments and alongside other large employers such as NS&I and the passport office.

“Relocating to the riverside will also bring 1,000 jobs into the heart of the city – a move which is being widely welcomed by the city’s retailers and businesses who believe it will deliver significant economic benefits.”

In January, Kier Property Developments won the bid to build the new headquarters.

Highlighting traffic and safety concerns, pollution levels in the city centre and the impact on wildlife in and around the river, Cllr Ashfield added: "Durham is not only a World Heritage Site, it is an area of outstanding natural beauty and by overcrowding it with buildings the county council is scoring an own goal."