Cathedrals · North East England
County Police Communication Tower
In or near Durham.
County Police Communication Tower in England North East, United Kingdom.

Oliver Dixon — CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 1 h–2 h
- Best time of year
- Year-round
- Nearest railway station
- Durham · 1.1 km
- Family-friendly
- Limited wheelchair access
Getting there & planning your visit
The County Police Communication Tower is located in County Durham, postcode DH1 5JU, and is approximately 1.1 km from Durham railway station. Entry details are not specified, and accessibility is limited for wheelchair users.
About
County Police Communication Tower is a place of interest in England North East, United Kingdom — drawn from open-data sources for visitor reference. See the linked Wikipedia article for the full description.
Photo gallery
Heritage listing
The Durham police mast (officially the County Police Communications Tower) was a structure that stood in the city of Durham in northern England. It was designed by county architect J. L. Parnaby and structural engineer Ove Arup and Partners. It was erected in 1968 and stood 162 feet (49 m) tall, providing radio communications for Durham Constabulary. It was built to a tripod design in reinforced concrete to satisfy a requirement for a rigid mast that was slender enough to minimise impact on views of Durham Cathedral. The structure was dismantled in 2017 as part of a redevelopment of the police headquarters but was required, by a planning condition, to be re-erected.
From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.
From the Wikipedia article
The Durham police mast (officially the County Police Communications Tower) was a structure that stood in the city of Durham in northern England. It was designed by county architect J. L. Parnaby and structural engineer Ove Arup and Partners. It was erected in 1968 and stood 162 feet (49 m) tall, providing radio communications for Durham Constabulary. It was built to a tripod design in reinforced concrete to satisfy a requirement for a rigid mast that was slender enough to minimise impact on views of Durham Cathedral. The structure was dismantled in 2017 as part of a redevelopment of the police headquarters but was required, by a planning condition, to be re-erected. In 2022 Durham Constabulary applied for permission to dispose of the mast but this was denied by Durham County Council in February 2023.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
Architecture
Durham County Police (now known as Durham Constabulary) relocated their headquarters from Old Elvet in the city centre to a more expansive setting at Aykley Heads in 1964. As part of the relocation there was a requirement for a new radio mast to facilitate police communications. This was required to be at least 150 ft in height to provide sufficient range. A further requirement was that the mast bend less than one degree in wind speeds of 50 mph, as mast bending distorts the radio frequency. The architectural design was carried out by county architect J. L. Parnaby and the structural design by Ove Arup and Partners. The designers settled on a tripod-based mast with three elements supporting…
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 54.7898, -1.5832
- District
- County Durham
- Parish
- City of Durham
- Postcode
- DH1 5JU
- Parliamentary constituency
- City of Durham
- Nearest railway station
- Durham — 1.1 km
Sources
- wikidata: Q26633553 (CC0)
- wikipedia: Durham police mast (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Other places nearby

Aykley Wood Owl
Public art & sculpture · 0.4 km

Durham County Council
Historic houses · 0.4 km

County Hall, Durham
Historic houses · 0.5 km

Durham County Record Office
Historic houses · 0.5 km

St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham
Historic churches · 0.5 km

Dryburn House
Manor houses · 0.6 km

50 years of landscape architecture
Memorials & monuments · 0.6 km

Durham Martyrs' Memorial
Memorials & monuments · 0.6 km

Durham Light Infantry Museum
Museums · 0.6 km

University Hospital of North Durham
Other places · 0.7 km

Marquis Of Granby Public House
Historic pubs · 0.8 km

Framwellgate School Durham
Other places · 0.8 km
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📷 5Frequently asked questions
- Where is County Police Communication Tower?
- County Police Communication Tower is in North-East England, United Kingdom (postcode DH1 5JU), in the parish of City of Durham.
- What is County Police Communication Tower?
- County Police Communication Tower in England North East, United Kingdom.
- How do I get to County Police Communication Tower?
- The nearest railway station is Durham, about 1.1 km away. Drivers can use postcode DH1 5JU.
- Is County Police Communication Tower a listed building?
- County Police Communication Tower is officially recognised as Grade II listed building listed.
- How do I get to County Police Communication Tower?
- The nearest railway station is Durham, about 1.1 km away. Drivers can navigate to postcode DH1 5JU.