Durham Court demolition branded 'appalling mistake'
Councillor Andrew Guy, a representative for the opposition group, called the move an "appalling mistake", and also raised concerns about the tower being a "substantial customer" for the Hebburn Energy Centre.The heating facility cost the council £11.9m, of which £4.8m came from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.Guy added: "This 18-storey tower block will be flattened, in the process wiping out the main reason the £11.9m Hebburn Energy Centre was built."
The opposition group and independent councillors said they requested the decision to be "called in" and referred to a scrutiny committee.However council chiefs said they had not "received a valid request for call-in" – a ruling which Guy said the group would be "formally challenging".The local authority added a valid call-in request must come no later than 12:00 on the fifth working day after publication of the minutes – which in this case falls on 2 June.Jane Carter, deputy council leader, previously said it was "by no means a conclusion we have reached lightly" to demolish Durham Court.She highlighted how the building would require £12m of investment to modernise and keep at a decent standard – which would have meant "significant disruption to the tenants without any guarantees about the long-term sustainability of the block".In response to concerns around the Hebburn Energy Centre, a council spokesperson said a new children's home would be connected to the renewable energy network, which would "mitigate a proportion of the lost carbon savings".The local authority added rehousing residents and the demolition process was likely to take about three to four years to complete.
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