Residents have say on next use of Stanley board school site

It comes after the demolition of the former Stanley Board School on the town’s Front Street, with many in the area urging that the cleared site be put to use for young people.

The former school, derelict for more than a decade, was demolished in January due to “substantial structural defects” that made the building financially impossible to save.

Karbon Homes, which owns the Front Street site, has said it wants the land to “benefit the community” while long-term plans for redevelopment are explored, including a forthcoming consultation.

Now residents have had their say on what they want to see from the site, including Pamela Halliday, 49, from Stanley who said the site should be: “Anything but a HMO.”

“It could be something for kids to stop the anti-social behaviour in the bus station,” she added.

Forty-nine-year-old Pamela Halliday said it should be ‘anything but a HMO.’ (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)

Brian Hutchinson, 70, said: “They need to make it something for the young people to stop them rampaging around town.

“A community centre would be good.”

Karbon Homes, which took the decision to demolish the site, said: “The investment required to retain it was financially unviable for us to undertake.”

Others welcomed the tidier appearance of the street since demolition, though some lamented the loss of the historic building.

The site has been levelled. (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)

One unnamed resident said: “It’s definitely better than it used to be, that’s for sure.”

Another described it as a missed heritage opportunity, adding: “They shouldn’t have torn it down.

“When it started to get bad, they should have taken it to Beamish and restored it.”

Robert Scott, 72, said: “Anything is better than what it is at the moment.

“It would be a good site for a Tesco, we don’t have one of those in the town.

“But if not, instead of it being rubble for the next 10 years it would make a nice little park.”

Lily Beckwith, 70, has lived in Stanley all her life. (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)

Long-term resident Lily Beckwith, 70, said: “It would be nice to have a play area for the young children and something for the whole community to be able to use.

“I remember when it used to be a bustling high street. We need that community spirit back.”

Karbon Homes said it is working with partners and the public on the site’s future.

The company said: “We will be exploring these ideas and will continue to engage with our community partners, as well as Stanley Town Council, Durham County Council and the North East Combined Authority.”

Karbon has also increased security at the site with CCTV and weekly inspections to prevent anti-social behaviour.

Previously, Graham Wood, economic development manager at Durham County Council, said of the site: “Its demolition is an opportunity to breathe fresh life into a prominent town centre location and, while we have not owned the building for many years, we have been working with its owner, Karbon Homes, as it explores future options for the site.

“We are committed to revitalising town centres across the county and are currently creating a new Strategic Place Plan for Stanley. This follows a series of engagement events last year in which we asked residents and businesses to share their ambitions for the town.

“Securing new uses for vacant sites in the town centre is a key priority and the redevelopment of Stanley Board School supports this goal.”