I've contacted Durham County Council this morning to enquire about the ownership and maintenance responsibility for two long-term derelict properties on the corner of Middle Street and Seventh Street in Blackhall Colliery.
Both buildings have stood empty for a considerable length of time and have become a blight on the main route through our village, so it would be a considerable benefit to the community if these properties could be tidied up, and perhaps brought back to useful purpose.
In addition to the poor visible condition of the properties, resident will recall that damage was caused to the front of one of the buildings during the recent storms, leaving the current condition of the building a potential threat to public safety.
As I reported on these pages yesterday the council's *Community Action Team (CAT) is due to begin an 11 week project later this month which will focus on environmental issues of this type. It's hoped that if we can get some advance information about these two properties any initiative to bring them back to an acceptable standard will get off to a stronger start.
*More details about the CAT project can be found here: Community Action Team project in Blackhall Colliery
