IT was the end of an era as an upper dale village hall, closed for five years due to safety concerns, was finally torn town.
Specialist contractors brought in heavy duty machinery this week to begin the demolition of Middleton-in-Teesdale Village Hall, as part of a project to redevelop facilities by the Upper Teesdale Community Association (UTCA).
Situated adjacent to the village’s primary school, the hall has been closed since 2019 because of asbestos and the building’s poor condition.
The volunteer group’s plan is to replace the once-popular venue with a new more modern structure that will suit the needs of the community and be capable of hosting sporting activities.
Association member Andy Goodman joined other members at the site when MGL Demolition started to tear down the 1960s structure.
He said: “All work prior was to take out the asbestos.
“They have taken out six tonnes of it to a specialist waste facility. It is the biggest amount MGL have seen in a building this size.”
After the initial strip out, teams sorted materials and broke up the concrete base ready for removal, with a security fence put in place around the site.
Funding to demolish the hall was provided through the government’s Shared Prosperity Fund, with the whole project supported by the UK government.
Mr Goodman said: “It is nice finally to see this happening and in the next month we will have another exciting thing happening, with the plans for the new hall going in. Hopefully they will be approved.”
Ahead of the plans being submitted to Durham County Council, UTCA has organised a drop-in session for residents on Wednesday, March 3, at the Pathway, when the plans will be on show.
Grace Crawford, UTCA member, said: “The designs will be on show at the drop-in session and there will be UTCA members on hand to answer any questions. But this is a positive step in what has been a long journey.
“What would be nice is if anyone has any photographs of the old hall that they would be willing to share so we can create a timeline as we move from the old to the new.”
Last year the UTCA secured £436,200 from the government’s community ownership fund for the rebuild of hall. Association member and Durham County Councillor Richard Bell said more fundraising would be needed for the project before it is complete.
