'Unviable' village celebrates 50 years of survival

Waldridge was one of a number of mining communities deemed economically unviable

A village is celebrating its 50th anniversary of being saved from demolition.

Waldridge, near Chester-le-Street, was one of the former mining communities across County Durham given category D status in the 1950s.

This meant such places were deemed to be economically unviable, so investment was cut off.

However, local people fought to keep the community alive and the category rating was scrapped in 1974.

A number of events have taken place to mark the anniversary, including a picnic in the local park.

In the 1950s as the mining industry declined, Durham County Council categorised 114 of the county’s 357 settlements – or nearly a third of all settlements – as category D.

The decision was taken to cut them off and with no investment in their infrastructure people would move away to more successful places in search of work.

Empty buildings would then be demolished and the settlement would cease to exist.

Waldridge was kept alive following a sustained campaign by local people and is now a thriving community.

The D statuses were eventually abolished.