CONCERNS shoppers could be at risk in Barnard Castle due to the poor condition of some historic buildings that line the town centre streets have been voiced.
Landlords who fail to maintain their buildings should be “taken to task” Lartington resident Richard Hunter said.
Mr Hunter, who has lived in the dale for many years, says he is saddened to see some of the Georgian properties on Horsemarket and Market Place deteriorating with blocked and leaking guttering, broken windows and cracked roof tiles in danger of falling.
He added: “They should be taken to task because the rates and rents the tenants have to pay are enormous and the buildings are crumbling. It’s not a good look for the town but more so it could be dangerous.
“The Oxfam building is currently having work done to it, but what about the Boots building and others?”
In recent weeks, traffic in the town centre was brought to a standstill when appliances from County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service blocked off access to part of Horsemarket to allow personnel on an aerial ladder platform to remove broken stone tiles from the roof of a property.
Then two weeks ago safety fencing was erected around the former Turk’s Head pub in Market Place, after concerns about the poor condition of the building, which has been empty for several years.
Michael Kelleher, Durham County Council’s head of planning and housing, said: “Responsibility for the maintenance of privately-owned buildings very much sits with their respective owners, though councils do have a duty of care to intervene in situations that may pose a public safety risk.
“We recently fenced off an area outside of the Turk’s Head pub, in Barnard Castle Market Place, in response to some concerns about the safety of the roof tiles and are now trying to contact the building’s owner so they can take the steps necessary to put it right.”
Mr Hunter added: “A lot of these buildings are listed and they are historic.
“Just to put scaffolding up costs a lot.
“They [landlords] are getting rents on these buildings and they need to maintain them.
“We keep looking at the buildings and it’s not just on the main street, go down any of the alleys and there are broken drainpipes, guttering overflowing and lots of buildings look like they are falling to bits.”
