May 13, 2011 (From Durham Times)

May 13, 2011

4:28pm Friday 13th May 2011 in Looking Back

From the Durham County Advertiser 50 years ago

YOUNG married couples house-hunting in Langley Moor, Littleburn and Browney are warned by the Brandon Urban Council: “Before you buy an old type house, consult us. Your bargain may be a slum clearance area and shortly have to be knocked down, or it may be sub-standard.”

Members of the council are anxious young couples do not invest their savings in a house, whose future they know nothing about. “In many cases, they are now aware the house they are buying will soon be knocked down or is sub-standard. That is why we ask them to come to us first so we can let them know,” said Mr Fred Hedley, Council Surveyor and Architect. In his office at Meadowfield, Mr Hedley listed many cases where young married couples had paid up to £400 for a house with no future. He spoke of the approaches made by young couples to the council asking for help. One had asked for the council’s assistance in repairing the ceiling which had fallen in.