One from the archives, an old Community centre I explored in the summer of last year.
Access was always hit and miss so after hearing it was open I had to go and have a look.
Nothing really amazing about the place as its was heavily decayed and looks about ready to collapse.
It was sad to see some lovely pool tables upstairs just left covered in bird crap and rotting away.
The Community Centre was constructed during the 1920s, as the ‘Miner’s Welfare Hall’, and was built using subscriptions from miners’ wages. From 1976 to 2012, the Miner’s Walfare Hall was converted into a local community centre.
Following a health and safety inspection, sometime in 2012, the centre was quickly closed due to concerns surrounding the building’s structural integrity and the presence of asbestos. Although the closure was described as temporary, the centre still remains closed to this day. Subsequently, since the building has been abandoned for such a prolonged length of time, the site has become a scene of neglect and vandalism. While there were also plans to build a new community centre, at a cost of £1.2 million back in 2008, all proposals were halted after nation-wide problems were encountered in the housing market in that same year. As things stand, Durham County Council has committed £400,000 through the Durham Villages Regeneration Company, and many people remain hopeful that the will secure funding through Lottery support. Without a community centre, Kath Pouton, the Hub Chair (the temporary replacement for the old meeting place) argues that “there’s nothing for the residents here. Nothing at all… We’ve got one shop and you can get a haircut. We need somewhere to get together, for kids and adults”.
Thanks for looking.
Access was always hit and miss so after hearing it was open I had to go and have a look.
Nothing really amazing about the place as its was heavily decayed and looks about ready to collapse.
It was sad to see some lovely pool tables upstairs just left covered in bird crap and rotting away.
The Community Centre was constructed during the 1920s, as the ‘Miner’s Welfare Hall’, and was built using subscriptions from miners’ wages. From 1976 to 2012, the Miner’s Walfare Hall was converted into a local community centre.
Following a health and safety inspection, sometime in 2012, the centre was quickly closed due to concerns surrounding the building’s structural integrity and the presence of asbestos. Although the closure was described as temporary, the centre still remains closed to this day. Subsequently, since the building has been abandoned for such a prolonged length of time, the site has become a scene of neglect and vandalism. While there were also plans to build a new community centre, at a cost of £1.2 million back in 2008, all proposals were halted after nation-wide problems were encountered in the housing market in that same year. As things stand, Durham County Council has committed £400,000 through the Durham Villages Regeneration Company, and many people remain hopeful that the will secure funding through Lottery support. Without a community centre, Kath Pouton, the Hub Chair (the temporary replacement for the old meeting place) argues that “there’s nothing for the residents here. Nothing at all… We’ve got one shop and you can get a haircut. We need somewhere to get together, for kids and adults”.
Thanks for looking.
