Aye. There's a few sites with potential - that one not least because of easy accessibility form so many places. The town shuttles could pick up people relying on public transport.
I think, disregarding the amount of traffic, the main drawback with the shuttle route in Durham was that the return journey was rather challenging for some vehicles. We caught the green "Stockton" decker from North Road back to Howlands and it really stunk of burning oil by the time we reached the top. It explained to Big'un why there were watering cans on board, mind!
RE: The future of rallies in the North East