Social housing set to be approved

June 9, 2026

Plans for new housing on the site of a former County Durham school are set to go ahead, writes Local Democracy Reporter, Bill Edgar.

The project, backed by funding from the North East Combined Authority (NECA), includes 25 properties for social rent on the site of the former Easington Colliery Primary School.

The proposed development would consist of two-storey homes, bungalows and flats on the site of the former school, which was demolished in 2020.

Earlier this year, Durham County Council secured £645,632 toward the development as part of NECA’s wider £22 million investment to support 1,122 new homes across the North East.

The application has been submitted by the council’s housing delivery department and has been recommended for approval ahead of a planning committee meeting on Tuesday (June 9).

Welcoming the funding, Andrew Husband, council leader, said: “It will turn an abandoned, disused site into valuable and much-needed housing for people, with features that will keep living costs down.”

County Durham’s council house delivery programme includes an ambition to deliver 500 homes over the next five years, with the Easington scheme the sixth major development to come forward.

Latest council data reveals a current shortfall of 836 affordable homes per year. The unmet need for affordable homes has meant that families in need of a home have had to be placed in temporary accommodation while they wait for a suitable home to become available.

“The proposed scheme is in a suitable location with the development having excellent links to local services and facilities,” the council added.

However, a total of two objections have been submitted, raising concerns over a lack of car parking for residents, an increase in traffic and proposed access routes.

The council’s affordable housing officer also raised concerns with the proposed first-floor flats, saying that they are “not satisfied that they would address a local need and therefore could remain vacant in the long term and would prefer a different house type to be provided”.