Durham County Council will spend £6m as part of plans to regenerate the village of Horden, where homes are on the market for just £5,000.
Durham said it had ambitious plans to redevelop the former mining village, but an unsuccessful levelling up bid in 2022 left it without adequate funding.
Proposals had included two new housing sites, improvements to community facilities and better connections to Peterlee rail station and the Heritage Coast.
When these plans were announced in 2019, a consultation saw residents highlight the need for new housing, demolition of the thirteen ‘numbered streets’, and more control over anti-social behaviour, crime and poor private landlord practice.
The £6m investment will fund the first phase of the council’s current plan for Horden, which involves acquiring all properties on Third Street before either improving or demolishing them.
It would not cover the cost of building new properties on Third Street.
Durham said it hoped the redevelopment of the street would ‘act as a catalyst’ for the regeneration of the wider area, particularly to make the other numbered streets somewhere people wanted to live.
Durham County Council's cabinet member for resources, investment and assets, Cllr James Rowlandson, said: ‘The revitalisation of Third Street could help us attract developers to work with us on the remainder of the numbered streets, and support delivery of our ambitious regeneration plans.’
Cllr Rowlandson said residents of Third Street would receive ‘full support’ from Durham, including support finding new accommodation if required and financial assistance. The council is holding drop-in sessions for the residents.
When asked about Durham's funding bid, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said it had ‘no plans to disclose publicly the details as to why bids were not successful’.
