Land once occupied by a vacant shop unit has been transformed into a green space as part of work to regenerate a County Durham town centre.
Durham County Council has turned the former 55-63 unit on Festival Walk in Spennymoor into a community garden and public space.
The unit had been vacant for some time despite efforts to find a new owner. As the council has already developed two other nearby sites and it was felt that developing a third would not be viable, the decision was made to demolish the premises and bring the space back into use.
Now, the site has been brought back to life, having been fully landscaped to create a community garden.
Graham Wood, Durham County Council’s economic development manager, said:
“As part of ongoing regeneration work within Spennymoor town centre, we have been making improvements to the high street to create a more appealing and welcoming environment for visitors. We hope this will help encourage footfall and support businesses.
“Transforming these empty units into a community garden has brought an empty site back into use as a welcoming, green space for people to enjoy.”
The project has been funded by the Neighbourhood Budgets of Cllr Liz Maddison and Cllr Billy McAloon, who contributed £701 and £500 respectively.
Funding was also contributed from the neighbourhood budgets of former councillors, Mark Abley and Luke Holmes, who provided £501 and £2,754.
