The Meadows

Laid out around an open space and with excellent amenities for walking and cycling nearby. The meadows has been designed to contribute and enhance on of Durham's most desirable neighbourhoods.

Pity Me Carrs nature reserve
The name ‘Pity Me’ is thought to derive from a lake, known as ‘Petit Mere’, that was once a feature of the area. The Pity Me Carrs nature reserve, adjacent to the Meadows, comprises around eight hectares of grassland, scrub and wetland habitats with a fascinating diversity of plant life, as well as frogs, newts and damselflies. The site of The Meadows was once home to one of the country’s most important colonies of Great Crested Newts, and as part of the development process, Miller has been delighted to fund the careful moving of these wonderful creatures, by wildlife experts, into a specially created and protected pond within the Nature Reserve, where their future is now more assured.

Sport and leisure
The Meadows has excellent sports and leisure facilities nearby. It is just a few minutes’ walk from The Abbey Sports Centre, and there is also a private leisure club in Abbey Road with a fully equipped gym that includes cardiovascular and resistance equipment, and a ladies-only fitness club, even closer to the development in Finchale Road. Durham also offers a choice of golf courses, including the Ramside Club, which combines superb modern clubhouse facilities with an unusual arrangement of three nine-hole loops, allowing a variety of courses to be played, and Durham City Golf Club, one of England’s oldest inland clubs with its pleasant meadows course along the banks of the River Browney.

Health care
There are two health centres within a few minutes’ walk of The Meadows, both offering a range of clinics and full GP services.

Culture and entertainment
Durham has a wealth of venues for exhibitions, drama and music, including the exciting Gala Theatre and Cinema. Part of the Millennium City development, the Gala complex incorporates a 500-seat auditorium, café bar and restaurant, and presents a lively mix of live entertainment, from comedy and music to dance, drama and children’s shows. There is a range of superb attractions in the city and surrounding area, including the wonderful Beamish open-air museum, and with a high proportion of students in the population, the city has a vibrant nightlife, with a lively choice of clubs and bars. The historic city centre is also a focal point for colourful street entertainers in summer.

Shopping
There is a Co-op convenience store in Carr House Drive, within a short walk of The Meadows, and the nearby Arnison Centre in Pity Me, less than half a mile away, includes Sainsbury’s and Marks and Spencer supermarkets as well as a selection of major chains, including Comet, Boots, Next and Homebase. Durham centre is a delightful shopping precinct with pedestrianised areas.

In addition to the choice of high-street names in the malls at Prince Bishops Shopping Centre and The Gates Shopping Centre, there is a daily choice of over 80 retailers in the Victorian market hall, with additional open-air stalls in the market-place on Saturdays. The vast MetroCentre at Gateshead, the largest shopping and leisure centre in Europe, is less than half an hour’s drive away.

Transport
Convenient for the A1(M) and less than two miles from Durham Railway Station, The Meadows is within commuting range of the whole of Greater Tyneside. Durham Tees Airport and Newcastle Airport are both within 20 miles of the development.

Education
There is a choice of good primary and junior schools within half a mile of The Meadows, and the local secondary, Framwellgate School – which gained an ‘outstanding’ grade 1 in the 2005 Ofsted inspection – is also less than
half a mile away. New Durham College, which offers a prospectus of sixth form, further and higher education,
is based around a campus in nearby Framwellgate Moor.