DURHAM City's toll road, the first in the country, will be managed by National Car Parks.

Durham County Council, architect of the scheme, appointed NCP, which is already policing on-street pay and display parking in and around the city centre.

The toll, which the council calls an "access charge'', will be levied on vehicles driving on to the historic peninsula, home of the city's cathedral and castle, from Tuesday, October 1.

All but certain exempt drivers will have to pay £2 at a rising bollard when they leave the toll area, which includes the Market Place, between 10am and 4pm Mondays to Saturdays.

A company spokesman said: "For the first six months an NCP attendant will be on hand to facilitate payment of the charge and deal with any difficulties which drivers may have.

"The bollard will also be linked by CCTV to the Parking Shop in North Road. Authorised vehicles will be supplied with transponders, which will automatically lower the bollard, and other users who meet the appropriate criteria will be supplied with smart cards.''

The scheme, recently approved by the Government, is designed to halve the traffic that uses the peninsula's narrow streets and comes into conflict with pedestrians in busy Saddler Street.

Council leader Ken Manton said: "NCP have done a good job in operating our on-street car parking scheme and were the natural choice to be given the task of managing this ground-breaking initiative on our behalf.''

NCP's on-street business controller Gavin Manger described the toll scheme as a "natural fit with our objectives''.

The council has promised a "softly, softly" approach towards drivers in the early days of the scheme.