Tower block demolition branded 'appalling mistake'

Durham Court is due to be demolished

Concerns have been raised over plans to demolish a tower block and rehouse its elderly residents.

South Tyneside Council's Labour cabinet recently unanimously agreed plans to rehouse the residents of Durham Court in Hebburn and to demolish the building.

The 18-storey block dates back to 1974 and currently has 96 people living there, the majority aged over 65.

Opposition councillors from the South Tyneside Alliance Group have criticised the move, describing it as "a staggering waste of public money".

Councillor Andrew Guy, a representative for the opposition group, called the move an "appalling mistake", and also raised concerns about the tower being a "substantial customer" for the Hebburn Energy Centre.

The heating facility cost the council £11.9m, of which £4.8m came from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Guy added: "This 18-storey tower block will be flattened, in the process wiping out the main reason the £11.9m Hebburn Energy Centre was built."

The opposition group and independent councillors said they requested the decision to be "called in" and referred to a scrutiny committee.

However council chiefs said they had not "received a valid request for call-in" – a ruling which Guy said the group would be "formally challenging".

The local authority added a valid call-in request must come no later than 12:00 on the fifth working day after publication of the minutes – which in this case falls on 2 June.

Jane Carter, deputy council leader, previously said it was "by no means a conclusion we have reached lightly" to demolish Durham Court.

She highlighted how the building would require £12m of investment to modernise and keep at a decent standard – which would have meant "significant disruption to the tenants without any guarantees about the long-term sustainability of the block".

In response to concerns around the Hebburn Energy Centre, a council spokesperson said a new children's home would be connected to the renewable energy network, which would "mitigate a proportion of the lost carbon savings".

The local authority added rehousing residents and the demolition process was likely to take about three to four years to complete.