WEB EXCLUSIVE: By Martin Walker
A troublesome old care home which has stood derelict for years will finally be demolished.
Councillors yesterday voted unanimously to knock down Greenfields Nursing Home, in Alston Crescent, Horndale, and replace it with 22 affordable homes.
The £2m scheme, by house building group Galliford Try and social housing provider Livin, will create 11 two-bedroom and 11 three-bed properties for rent.
As reported in today’s Northern Echo, Durham County Council’s planning committee voted unanimously in favour of the bid proposals at a meeting on Thursday.
Police and nearby residents had already backed the scheme because they felt it would reduce anti-social behaviour, as it had become a meeting place for teenagers to smoke, drink and take drugs.
No objections were submitted against the proposals although one letter called for the need for more off-street parking.
Members of the committee were told the former nursing home was in a poor state and improvements needed to be made fairly quickly.
They also heard that there was a desperate need for more social housing and for more landlords to come forward.
The site, which is set back from the road, will have 30 parking spaces.
Greenfields Nursing Home – the view from Greenlee Garth
Councillor David Boyes asked whether there would be a contribution made to a new multi-use games area, but he was told this would not happen owing to the demand for affordable housing and that the project would make a small loss.
In addition, councillors were told there was green space available in Newton Aycliffe and that children were well accommodated.
Councillor John Shuttleworth said: “It is good to see improvements being made for local people.”
Neighbourhood Police Team Sergeant Mark Edwards, who writes a regular blog on Aycliffe Today, has previously described the building as a thorn in police’s side.
Issues surrounding the site regularly crop up at Greenfield Police and Community Together (PACT) meetings, and a petition calling for action attracted hundreds of signatures.
The Greenfields home site will be the largest one built in the town by Livin.