Villagers challenge council plan to demolish homes

Villagers trying to prevent their homes from being demolished have been granted permission for a judicial review into a council's regeneration plans.

In December 2025, Durham County Council's £10.7m project to demolish houses on three of Horden's numbered streets and build 100 new ones was granted planning permission.

Residents opposed to the demolition managed to raise enough funding to challenge the plans and a High Court judge has now granted permission for the case to proceed to a substantive hearing, where the court will decide whether to quash the plans.

The Reform UK-led council said its plans would "improve quality of life for local people by ensuring a higher standard of housing".

The properties set to be demolished as part of the Horden Masterplan include council and privately owned housing and the council has said current residents are being helped to find new homes.

Ray Bellingham, 60, has lived on Third Street all his life.

After his home was earmarked for demolition, he helped start the Save Our Homes campaign group, which has been challenging the council's decision in the courts.

"The result has been amazing for us," he said.

"I'm an emotional person, because everything that's been going on until now has been really very stressful.

"I could have burst into tears."

He said the residents had never been against redevelopment, but the council "doesn't have to bulldoze our homes to achieve that".

Homes on Third and Fifth streets would be among the first to be bulldozed as part of the Horden Masterplan [BBC]

Fellow Horden resident Keith Derby has been supporting the Save our Homes campaign and said being granted permission for a judicial review was "momentous".

"People have told me, you're not going to beat the council's barristers," he said.

"But so far, the little people are winning."

He said the residents could not understand why the council wanted to demolish the 120-year-old houses.

"They're not falling down - there's nothing wrong with them," he said.

"They just need some tender, loving care."

Durham County Council has invested £6.2m into the Horden Masterplan, with a further £4.5m coming from the North East Combined Authority (NECA).

The original plan was compiled and submitted by the previous Liberal Democrat-led coalition, before Reform were elected to run the council in May 2025.

Following the High Court hearing, Durham County Council's cabinet member for planning Joe Quinn said: "We are naturally disappointed that there will be further delay to what is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, and added expense for all parties."

He added the "plans would improve quality of life for local people by ensuring a higher standard of housing, and by tackling the high number of empty properties in the numbered streets owned by absentee landlords".

Quinn said the council homes the local authority wanted to deliver would be available for social rent and would be affordable.

The council also said the plans had been well received during public consultations.

Durham County Council and the residents opposing the plans will now have time to prepare for the judicial review.

At the next hearing, a High Court judge is expected to decide whether to quash the plans or allow them to go ahead.

A date for that hearing has yet to be determined.

NECA declined to comment on the case but said it remained committed to to delivering new homes for local people.

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