The case for founding Peterlee as a new town was put forward in Farewell Squalor by Easington Rural District Council Surveyor C. W. Clarke, who also proposed that the town be named after the celebrated Durham miners' leader Peter Lee. It is one of the few places in the British Isles to be directly named after an individual, and unique among the post-Second World War new towns in having its existence requested by local people through their MP. A deputation, mostly if not wholly consisting of working miners, met the Minister of Town and Country Planning to put the case for a new town in the district. The Minister, Lewis Silkin, responded by offering a half-size new town of 30,000 residents. The subsequent new residents came largely from surrounding villages in the District of Easington. Peterlee Development Corporation was founded in 1948, first under A. V. Williams, then under Dr Monica Felton. The original master plan for tower blocks of flats by Berthold Lubetkin was rejected as unsuitable for the geology of the area, which had been weakened by mining works and he resigned in 1950. George Grenfell Baines replaced Lubetkin and began to build quickly, but the result was poor-quality construction. Williams invited an artist Victor Pasmore to head the design team for the landscaping.
Governance
Peterlee Town Council
Durham County Council
Landmarks
Apollo Pavilion
The Apollo Pavilion was designed by Victor Pasmore. It provided a focal point for the Sunny Blunts estate as well as a bridge across a water-course. It was named after the Apollo moon missions. From the late 1970s the Pavilion suffered from vandals and anti-social behaviour. The murals on the building faded, and to discourage anti-social behaviour, staircases were removed in the 1980s. In 1996, there was a failed attempt to list the Pavilion. English Heritage described it as "an internationally important masterpiece". However, some local residents and councillors saw the Pavilion as an eyesore and campaigned to have it demolished. The campaign appeared to have been successful when demolition was proposed in 2000. However, in July 2009 a six-month revamp programme was completed at a cost of £400,000. As part of this, original features such as the murals and stairs were reinstated. In December 2011, English Heritage gave the pavilion a Grade-II* listing.
Transport
Road
Peterlee is served by the main A19 road running west of the town to Sunderland in the north and Teesside in the south, and the A1086 to its east leading to Easington in the north and Hartlepool to the south. The B1320 runs through the town centre linking the town to Horden and the A1086 in the east and Shotton Colliery and the A19 in the west. The B1432 to the north of the town centre leads to Easington Village, Hawthorn and Seaham on the route of the old A19. The A181 runs to the south-west of the town at the Castle Eden and Wingate junction on the A19 leading to Wheatley Hill, Thornley, and Durham. In 2008, the A688 was extended to the A181 at Running Waters from the A1 junction at Bowburn, creating a trunk road from Peterlee to the A1 via the A19, A181 and A688.
Peterlee is served by Horden railway station, approximately to east, on the Durham Coast Line. This station, which opened on 29 June 2020, replaced Horden's earlier station which closed in May 1964. Until 1952, there had also been a station approximately to the west in Shotton Colliery called .
