I WAS the only councillor at Sedgefield Borough Council to vote against the sale of the council housing stock to the County Durham housing association, Livin.

I considered that under democratic control there would be better control of tenants and certainly more investment to enable the building stock to be maintained in a good condition.

I was asked about 18 months ago what was happening to an untidy block of garages at the bottom of Ox Close Crescent, in Spennymoor. These garages were, mainly unused and an eyesore. I reported this to Livin and it tidied the site up.

At that time, there was an extension being built at Ox Close School. Livin was considering demolishing the garages and leaving the concrete bases to be used temporarily as parking bays.

This never happened and when I contacted the Livin office, I was told that it was considering building a house on the site. I am awaiting more details.

Ben Ord, Liberal Democrat Candidate, Spennymoor, Durham County Council