Helping communities to blossom at the grass roots

The Towns and Villages Investment Plan has committed £20m to those areas most in need or impacted by the pandemic and, following extensive consultation, a further £5m has been allocated across the authority’s Area Action Partnerships to deliver against their own priorities for regeneration. 

For communities like Ferryhill, the council has undertaken a range of projects including business improvements, work via its Community Action Teams in Ferryhill and Ferryhill Station, as well as tackling empty properties and problem landlords.

Future projects being developed include improvements to neighbourhood shopping, further business support in the town centre, continuing the great work of insulating older properties as well as looking into opportunities around reopening the railway station.

In Dean Bank – the oldest residential area in Ferryhill – the grass is already proving to be greener, with the Towns and Villages fund providing £100,000 for environmental improvements following the demolition of private and social homes in Faraday and Stephenson streets.

Around half the money is being spent on landscaping, with further investment in enhancing property frontage and rear lane improvements around the cleared sites.

The council’s Direct Services team is carrying out the work, with the local authority appointed landscape architects, Fairhurst, producing the designs and managing the project. The initiative is being carried out in partnership with Bernicia Homes, which has invested £1m in the acquisition and demolition of these homes, many of which had been empty long-term.

The improvements are particularly close to the heart of Derek Bradley, whose roots grow proud and deep in the Dean Bank community. His grandfather, William Atkinson, served for 45 years down the Dean and Chapter Colliery, which closed in January, 1966.

Derek’s father, who shared his name, was also a pitman, and he is passionate about his heritage. He is even the proud owner of an axe that his grandfather used down the pit, and he is determined to play a part in improving the quality of life in the community.

Derek is now chair of Dean Bank Residents’ Association, and trustee of Dean Bank Institute, and he has no doubt about the value of the investment through the council’s Towns and Villages fund.

“It’s made a huge difference because, for the first time in 100 years, people have greenery and trees to enjoy, instead of looking across at houses,” he says. “People have sunlight in their houses because the space has been opened up.”

After the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, residents can now look forward to bulbs flowering in the summer, picnics, and children having grass to play on.

“It’s part of a bigger vision for the community, and there’s more to be done, but it’s great to see the difference that’s already being made,” says Derek. “It’s a very welcome investment in the future of this community.”

The most famous miner at the Dean and Chapter Colliery was the celebrated artist, Norman Cornish, and the improvements taking place in Dean Bank coincided with the 100th anniversary of the great man’s birth.

To mark the anniversary, artist Lionel Playford was commissioned to retrace the footsteps of Cornish to create artworks which are to be displayed in empty property windows and door panels, as another dimension to the regeneration project.

Lionel has also worked on mural projects with Dean Bank Primary School and staged a workshop with the children based on Norman’s style of portrait drawing. The school has kept the children’s charcoal drawings in the hope that they can be brought together with Lionel’s paintings for an outdoor exhibition.

Lionel, who is based at Alston, in Cumbria, has developed a special interest in County Durham’s mining landscapes during his career, and is proud to have played a part in the regeneration of Dean Bank.

“It’s been an amazing project to be part of,” he said. “It’s opened my eyes not just to Norman Cornish, but to yet another Durham mining landscape. It’s wonderful to include works of art that are about that community, and a connection to the region’s most famous artist.

“Hopefully, when people visit that area in the future, they’ll see the paintings and get a sense of that heritage and how much has changed.”

Councillor Carl Marshall, the council’s Cabinet Member for Economy and Regeneration, said: “This is a strategy that focuses on supporting our communities with higher levels of need, and the new money is being aimed at overcoming the many issues faced by those communities and supporting  resilience.

“The project, working alongside Bernicia Homes, in Dean Bank, is just one example of how working with partners and including some additional investment can improve outcomes by enhancing the environment. This will have a massive knock-on effect in all kinds of ways, such as improving those residents’ quality of life, mental health, and reducing anti-social behaviour.

“By involving the artist, Lionel Playford, working with local children, it is a scheme which gives people a great sense of belonging – and that’s so important to the future of these communities.”