The demolition of a former school has been approved, with work to pull down the dilapidated buildings due to start soon.

The former Sunnydale Campus of Greenfield Community College, in Shildon, closed earlier this year as council leaders agreed on basing a "21st Century education experience" in a neighbouring town.

The site closed on August 31, with a new Greenfield Community College to be built in Newton Aycliffe. The college's pupils, previously split between the two sites, will be based at the Aycliffe site. All pupils have been taught there since the Sunnydale site was temporarily closed due to health and safety concerns in January 2020.

There were also worries over standards, with Ofsted inspectors arguing the split site was delaying education improvement.

The Northern Echo: The Shildon site of Greenfield Community CollegeThe Shildon site of Greenfield Community College (Image: Chris Booth)

But the shake-up has been controversial, with opponents saying the loss of Shildon's only secondary school would harm a town already "overlooked" with a lack of development. However, the closure was approved and labelled as the "best future option" amid declining pupil numbers and growing financial pressures.

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Councillor Shirley Quinn said: “This remains a sensitive issue locally and while I would have wanted the school to remain open and used, I appreciated the final decision of split site closure and then the final direction to close.

“I support the demolition follow decisions made in respect of this building due to its unsightly condition and the problems which resulted in the forced school closure on Health and Safety grounds.”

And Cllr Matt Johnson said the building had become an eyesore. “While we were all dismayed to see the end of secondary education in our town, it is plain to see that the building needs to come down ASAP so I also support demolition,” he added.

The Northern Echo: The Newton Aycliffe site of Greenfield Community CollegeThe Newton Aycliffe site of Greenfield Community College (Image: The Northern Echo)