Horden is the cheapest seaside village in England (Image: Craig Connor/ChronicleLive)
Residents of England’s cheapest seaside village say it is suffering as scores of family homes lie empty while dozens more face being demolished. Horden and neighbouring Peterlee were named as the cheapest seaside destination in the country by Rightmove, with two-bedroom terraced houses available for as little as £5,000.
According to the website, the average asking price is just over £122k – less than half the average for Britain as a whole. Even though demand for seaside properties has increased by 8% compared to last year, locals say no one wants to live in the area, which struggles from a lack of investment, with drug gangs and anti-social behaviour plaguing the small coastal community.
“It’s the armpit of England,” one resident said on a local Facebook group post.
Locals have previously raised concerns over criminals using the houses in Horden to grow and deal drugs. One man was jailed for over three years in April after he was found hiding in a cannabis farm at a disused shop in Blackhills Road.
Two years ago, feuding rival gang members clashed in Horden’s Fifth Street where a stolen Transit van smashed into shop fronts and shots were fired before a high-speed chase through the village. Seven men were jailed for a combined 94 years after pleading guilty at Newcastle Crown Court.
Residents claim their housing concerns are being ignored by Durham County Council, which wants to buy houses on the Numbered Streets in Horden to demolish them and build new properties – despite some residents having lived in the area for their whole lives.
The Numbered Streets, an area of the village which includes First Street, Second Street, and so on up to 13th Street, were originally built in the early 1900s for the large community of coal mining families in the area. Many properties suitable for families now sit empty, and are currently listed for sale for well below £40,000.
Campaigner and author Pip Fallow lives locally, and said: “Most of Europe has a shortage of houses. We’ve actually got the opposite, as no one is living here, it’s [all] boarded up.”
Pip says ‘no one’ is living in the area (Image: Pip Fallow)
He doesn’t believe new housing redevelopments will help Peterlee and its surrounding villages.
“The proof’s in the pudding, there are houses there already and no one wants to live in them. There’s nothing to offer. You need to bring in new industry,” he added.
Another resident, Liz MacPhee, said Horden is “quite a run-down area, lots of lovely houses, just boarded up” but that since she arrived in the village she’s been part of “a really strong community”. She moved from the south of France as she wanted an affordable place to live near the beach.
Despite its beach Horden still struggles to attract new residents (Image: Craig Connor/ChronicleLive)
But she claimed her friends are now at risk of being moved out by the council, and are only being offered the average auction value of their properties.
“We’re prepared to fight… all [the council] want is shiny new houses,” she added.
Durham County Council says the development, and additional developments in the area around Peterlee, will improve walking and cycling routes to Peterlee centre, its train station and the Durham Heritage Coast.
But residents argue the council should be redeveloping the existing homes instead.
“The council isn’t listening to us,” Liz said. “We want them refurbed as they are absolutely beautiful houses.
“The council and the Government treated the miners really badly,” she added. “And now they’re coming back a second time to get their offspring.”
Durham County Council wants to purchase properties in Third Street (Image: Craig Connor/ChronicleLive)
Horden and the surrounding area have seen several new developments spring up over the past few years, including a £10.55m train line between Newcastle and Middlesbrough that opened in June 2020.
It was announced in July that Believe Housing had proposed a new development in neighbouring Peterlee for 70 homes on disused land.
“It’s a beautiful part of the world,” Liz said. “But people here are so run down and have been treated so negatively in the past they feel it’s something that’s just going to happen [again].”
Several properties in Horden are boarded up (Image: Craig Connor/ChronicleLive)
When approached for comment, Michael Kelleher, head of planning and housing at Durham County Council, said: “The Horden Masterplan has been subject to extensive consultation with residents and has received strong support. The aim is to regenerate the village and improve life for local people by tackling issues such as the high number of empty homes in the Numbered Streets, supporting those with housing needs and enhancing community facilities.
“The acquisition of properties in Third and Fifth Street will pave the way for new council housing that is truly affordable, alongside the provision of private housing.
“We understand this is an unsettling time, and we are working closely with owners and landlords to negotiate the purchase of their properties and identify the housing needs of local people.
“Owners are not being offered auction prices. We have appointed an independent firm to undertake property valuations in line with the RICS Red Book Valuation approach, which is widely recognised as a standard approach to valuation. Tpas, a tenant engagement specialist, has also been appointed to provide residents with additional advice and support.”