THOUSANDS of pounds are being invested in a former mining community to help to regenerate the area.

Wear Valley District Council will allocate £300,000 a year for the next five years to the villages of Eldon Lane, Coundon Grange and Bridge Place, near Bishop Auckland.

Improvement work has started on homes in Eldon Lane. The priority is Randolph Street.

The improvements include renewing boundary walls, cleaning bricks, renewing guttering and downpipes, painting, installing security lights and tidying up the street.

Contractors Vest Construction are overseeing the work, which will take about ten weeks.

Dorothy Burn, chairwoman of Dene Valley District Council, said: "This is something that the residents have been waiting for for a long time and it is nice to see that it is finally happening.

"What is good is that the council came out and talked to the residents and seem to have listened to what they wanted.

"Randolph Street looks out onto the new community park and, with all these improvements, it will be a lovely little area to live. This is good news for the area."

Richard Roddam, principal housing strategy officer for the regeneration department at the council, said the contractor was concentrating on the rear of Randolph Street and had demolished and started to rebuild rear yard walls.

Builders are also in the process of brick cleaning and repointing the properties.

He said: "Over the past few months, both the council and Accent Regeneration have involved the community in looking at how to make lasting improvements to the village.

"This is a positive approach where the council is not just focusing on council properties but is making upgrades to all the properties in Randolph Street.

"The renewal scheme has five years remaining and a considerable focus will be made over this period to make a real difference to the area."