Last residents standing on ghost street full of boarded up terraces REFUSE to sell £70k homes despite council bulldozers closing in

Furious residents surviving connected an 'eyesore' shade thoroughfare earmarked for demolition vowed they would 'rather beryllium shot' than springiness up their beloved homes.

Council bulldozers are closing successful connected Third Street, successful the erstwhile mining colony of Horden, Co Durham, arsenic portion of a £6m masterplan to raze its 123-year-old terraces and regenerate them with modern housing.

But the past remaining locals inactive surviving connected the semi-derelict thoroughfare - wherever galore of their neighbours' homes are present crudely boarded up - person vowed to combat assembly attempts to get their homes.

They person accused municipality hallway officials of 'strong-arm tactics' and 'cheeky' low-ball offers arsenic they combat to support the homes their families person cherished for decades.

Among those refusing to merchantability up are Moira Bellingham, 65, and her member Ray, 67, siblings who person lived successful their location for 59 years.

Surrounding by decades of household possessions, Moira said: 'They would virtually request to termination maine to get maine retired of this house.

'I've spent my full beingness present and the memories I person are priceless. The assembly deliberation they tin conscionable unit america out, but they'll person to resistance maine retired of here. Shoot me, if they person to. That's however overmuch this spot means to us.

'It sounds a spot drastic but that's the mode we feel.

'Even if they offered fractional a million, it wouldn't marque a difference. We're not selling. This is our home, and I'm going to walk my past days here. They'll person to transportation maine retired successful a container earlier I leave.'

Durham County Council plans to demolish astir 80 houses - astir fractional of which are bare - to rebuild the thoroughfare 'as a catalyst for the regeneration of the wider area'.

Homeowners person been made offers to merchantability up - and warned that if they refuse, the assembly volition spell to tribunal to forcibly get them done alleged compulsory acquisition orders.

Ray, who was 9 erstwhile his parents bought their location connected Third Street, said the assembly had offered fractional of the £70,000 worth of his home. The mean UK location terms is £270,867.

He said: 'You get your £30,000 and what bash you do? You can't bargain different location for that. I'm astir 68, I can't get a mortgage.

'The assembly needs to realise what 59 years of america surviving successful this location means to us. You can't enactment a terms connected that. They could connection america £500,000 and we inactive wouldn't instrumentality it.

'People should person a close to enactment successful their homes if that is what they want.

'But the assembly are tightening the thumbscrews. They marque the derelict buildings look deliberately derelict. They thrust the country down, the standards down, and they conscionable unit radical retired by applied pressure.

'All the homeowners near successful the thoroughfare person made it wide they're not selling.

'We mightiness not beryllium palmy but we won't springiness up without a fight.

'It doesn't marque immoderate sense, there's a batch of past successful these houses. They were built successful 1902 and they're arsenic solid. You tin consciousness the past successful each brick.

'They privation to teardrop them down and instrumentality up a inexpensive caller physique that won't past for fractional arsenic long.'

Third Street sits among Horden's humanities 'numbered streets' built astatine the crook of the 20th period arsenic pit homes for miners moving astatine the adjacent colliery.

However, the town's fortunes suffered erstwhile the ember excavation unopen successful 1987 with the neighbouring homes becoming a magnet for anti-social behaviour.

Now galore properties connected the numbered streets are long-abandoned and plastered with fake windows and doors to deter intruders.

The assembly says that flattening the thoroughfare volition alteration it to physique fit-for-purpose modern lodging that volition pull families to the area.

Those renting person been sent letters by the section authorization offering them £1,000 to supply the sanction of their landlord truthful acquisition discussions tin begin.

Chef Eva Halili, 41, says she has nary volition of passing implicit her landlords details - contempt neighbouring a boarded-up home.

The mother-of-two moved from London with her children, aged 18 and 12, wherever she pays £700 rent for a deceptively ample terraced location - having paid £2,200 each period for a tiny location successful the capital.

She said: 'We've been offered £1,000 if we archer the assembly who our landlords are, truthful they tin negociate with them. But there's nary mode I'm consenting to bash that. They're utilizing bribery tactics to effort and get america out.

'It's precise wrong. There are radical who person lived present for 60 years, it's their household home. I moved present from London and I planned connected this being a everlastingly home. I emotion it present - we're close by the formation and my kids emotion it. I spoke to my landlord and helium promised maine helium has nary volition of selling.

'They conscionable request to renovate the bare houses, a refresh. Why should I determination and each the different radical determination retired for them to travel successful with the bulldozers and physique much costly houses for different radical to unrecorded in? It's conscionable not fair.'

Frank Whittaker, 53, is among Third Street residents coming unneurotic the combat assembly plans astatine assemblage radical meetings.

He bought his end-terrace location 5 years agone for astir £60,000 and spent a further than £30,000 connected renovations - including a modern room and a tiled jacuzzi bathroom.

He faces making a nonaccomplishment of much than fractional that amount.

Mr Whittaker said: 'I've spent a luck fixing it up - caller heating, electric, a due roof, everything - due to the fact that I program to enactment present for life.

'Now they're coming successful saying they'll connection betwixt £32,000 and £38,000 for homes astir here. I've spent £30,000 connected doing up my house, and I cognize it's worthy acold more.

'If the were genuine, past they'd connection america just amounts. If I'm near with £30,000 I can't spend to bargain different house.

'This isn't conscionable astir money. There are families present who've invested their lives successful these homes. The assembly acts similar the country is simply a wasteland, but we person a assemblage – radical who don't privation to leave, who've spent years gathering their lives here.'

'They're trying to marque the spot look abandoned. They committee up bare houses with disfigured sheets, making it look derelict. It's a maneuver to scare radical into selling. It's full intimidation, but we're not falling for it.

'They cognize we're not conscionable going to rotation over. We person a close to our homes and our community.'

Many landlords person abandoned Third Street, taking assembly currency to merchantability up and determination connected alternatively of watching the worth of their investments fall.

One derelict location goes to auction this period with a starting terms of £1 - though the property bureau listing warns of a 'potential compulsory acquisition order'. 

Gloria Graveson, 78, has been offered £30,000 by the assembly for her three-bed terraced home, and is reluctantly accepting the woody pursuing the caller decease of her husband.

She said: 'My hubby ever refused to move. There was nary mode helium would see it. We'd been present for 50 years.

'But present it's conscionable maine connected my own, I can't negociate successful a location this big.

'I'm selling to the assembly but I'm not getting overmuch - £30,000. I conscionable spent £10,000 connected a caller roof.

'People who instrumentality the wealth - they can't spend to bargain determination else. They can't get a mortgage. So they'll person to find wealth to rent instead.'

The assemblage plot successful Horden, a tiny allotment abstraction successful betwixt a clump of homes, besides faces being closed down.

Gardener Martin Copeland, 63, said volunteers are successful limbo astir wherever they volition beryllium moved to, and when.

He said helium admired residents for lasting up their homes but feared it was 'too late'.

Mr Copeland said: 'The full thoroughfare is deteriorating due to the fact that each the landlords person sold up and moved on.

'Other landlords are selling disconnected their houses for arsenic small arsenic a pound.

'No-one volition get afloat worth for them due to the fact that the assembly has killed the area. No-one other would privation to bargain them truthful the assembly reckon they tin prime them up for adjacent to nothing.

'The assembly should connection the residents an alternate spot of adjacent value. That would beryllium the just happening to do. The assembly privation to bare arsenic galore properties arsenic they tin until the past man's lasting and he's got obscurity to turn.

'It's bittersweet but each it's each stacked against the residents.'

Under Durham council's masterplan, municipality hallway officials besides privation to get 58 neighbouring homes successful Fifth Street to physique a caller lodging estate.

The council, present controlled by Reform UK, hopes demolition enactment could statesman by 2026.

Michael Kelleher, caput of readying and lodging astatine Durham County Council, said: 'The Horden Masterplan has been taxable to extended consultation with residents and has received beardown support. 

'The purpose is to regenerate the colony and amended beingness for section radical by tackling issues specified arsenic the precocious fig of bare homes successful the Numbered Streets, portion supporting those with lodging needs and enhancing assemblage facilities.

'The acquisition of properties successful Third and Fifth Street would pave the mode for caller assembly lodging that volition beryllium genuinely affordable, alongside the proviso of marketplace housing.

'We recognize this is an unsettling time, and we are moving intimately with residents to negociate the acquisition of these properties. 

'We are besides speaking to some proprietor occupiers and tenants to place their lodging needs and to enactment them to find suitable alternate accommodation.

'We person appointed an autarkic steadfast to undertake spot valuations successful enactment with the RICS Red Book Valuation approach, which is wide recognised arsenic a modular attack to valuation. 

'Tpas, a tenant engagement specialist, has besides been appointed to supply residents with further proposal and support.

'We are besides processing a readying exertion for demolition and replacement lodging successful the Numbered Streets Third and Fifth Street country that we are hoping to stock with section residents successful the coming weeks, with a presumption to considering immoderate feedback and submitting a connection aboriginal this year.'