Lack of church repairs lands 'highest ever' fine

St Aidan's Church occupies a "prime place" in Blackhill, the council says

A council has imposed its "highest ever financial penalty" on the owner of a derelict Grade II church for continued failure to carry out repairs.

The owner of St Aidan's Church in Blackhill, near Consett, was ordered to pay £124,800 after being taken to court a second time by Durham County Council.

Purvis Construction NE Ltd, which was fined £10,000 in December, got an additional financial penalty of £500 for each day that has passed since the first prosecution - the maximum amount allowed, the council said.

Councillor Lyndsey Fox said no work had started and that this had "upset a lot of people living in the area who regard the old church as an important part of their heritage".

The penalty was issued at Peterlee Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

The council had served a maintenance notice to the Sunderland-based company in 2023.

It was required to repair the building's roof, gutters and windows, as well as to cut back overgrown trees and shrubs.

The owner was ordered to carry out repairs to the building

The building was also no longer wind or watertight and is this was having a "negative impact on the appearance of the surrounding area", the local authority said.

Fox said the church occupied a "prime place" in Blackhill.

"We are really pleased that the court has taken this latest prosecution so seriously and has meted out what amounts to our highest ever financial penalty," she said.

The new penalty included a fine of £500 per day for 245 days - a total of £122,500, plus a surcharge of £2,000 and £300 for prosecution and investigation costs.