I contacted Adam Ellison a Hebburn Councillor to ask why are the Council asking Tenants to move out of Durham Court Flats. He didnt reply, just forwarded the email to Mr Dixon.


Good evening Mr Dunn

In response to your query, the current situation is that all tenants of Durham Court have been written to (on Monday 3 March), to advise that a recommendation will be made to the Council’s Cabinet in May to demolish Durham Court and rehouse all tenants. This is due to the age / construction of the building and the significant investment that is required – and that any investment would not guarantee the building in the long term.

All tenants have been invited to attend an engagement session (three in total, all covering the same presentation). Two of the sessions took place earlier this week with a further session to take place on Thursday 13 March. In the sessions, a presentation was given by Council officers, but the main element of the session was for tenants to ask any questions they had regarding the process.

In the session, it was confirmed that, if the decision was made to demolish Durham Court, then there would be no immediate rush for tenants to relocate and that they would be fully supported in doing so (indeed, this process is likely to take a number of years). Furthermore, there will be no “reduction” in the Home Loss payment, which is fixed at £8100.

To clarify, no decision has been made yet and the process at present is to engage with tenants in advance of the decision that will be made by the Council’s Cabinet in May.

Regards,

Phil Dixon
Head of Strategic Housing and Assets