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Peterlee
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Peterlee is a new town in County Durham, England. Founded in 1948, the town is named after Peter Lee, a prominent local miner. Peterlee town originally mostly housed coal miners.
Peterlee has strong economic and community ties with Sunderland and Hartlepool.
General information
Development
Peterlee is unique among the new towns which came into being after the Second World War in that it was the only one requested by the people through their political representatives - though whether a majority of the people living in the surrounding colliery villages actually wanted the place to be built remains a moot point.
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Encyclopedia
Peterlee is a new town in County Durham, England. Founded in 1948, the town is named after Peter Lee, a prominent local miner. Peterlee town originally mostly housed coal miners.
Peterlee has strong economic and community ties with Sunderland and Hartlepool.
General information
Development
Peterlee is unique among the new towns which came into being after the Second World War in that it was the only one requested by the people through their political representatives - though whether a majority of the people living in the surrounding colliery villages actually wanted the place to be built remains a moot point. It can certainly be argued that the building of Peterlee was at the expense of such nearby colliery villages as Thornley and Wheatley Hill where development was deliberately suppressed by the local council in favour of the new town. The colliery village of Horden has, however, suffered perhaps more; its proximity to Peterlee has seen it lose all of its major services, including police and fire stations to the new town.
A deputation, mostly if not all working miners, met with the Minister of Town and Country Planning after the Second World War to put the case for a new town in the district. The minister John Silkin responded by offering a half size new town of 30,000 residents. Subsequently, they came largely from the surrounding villages in the District of Easington.
The Peterlee Development Corporation was established in 1948 under the direction of A V Williams. The original ambitious master-plan for towering blocks of flats by Berthold Lubetkin was rejected as unsuitable for the geology of the area which had been weakened by mining works and he resigned in 1950. George Grenfell Baines replaced Lubetkin and began to build quickly resulting in buildings of poor quality construction. In a bold move Williams invited an artist Victor Pasmore to be head of the design team for the landscaping. The Apollo Pavilion was completed in 1970 at centre of the Sunny Blunts estate and was named after the Apollo Space Programme. As well as a visual focus the structure acted as a bridge across a small lake. Nikolaus Pevsner provides a glowing commentary on the interaction of the housing units and the Pavilion with the landscape; however, the structure became a meeting point for unruly locals and was soon defaced with graffiti and a congregation area for drug users and drinkers. In 1982 Pasmore agreed to the connecting stairs being removed.
In 1975, Artist Placement Group had contacted new towns to set up the terms for artists to propose projects. The Development Corporation of Peterlee New Town responded and in 1976, Stuart Brisley was appointed. The project contained three distinct parts:
- to develop an ongoing process of collecting and disseminating information under the title History Within Living Memory
- to establish a publicly available history of the Development Corporation made in association with the Sociology Dept of the University of Durham
- to introduce a community workshop which began in 1977
Some local residents and councillors have petitioned to have the Pasmore Pavilion demolished, citing it as an eyesore. Some locals also refer to the Pavilion as 'the Monstrosity' and an application to have the structure listed was rejected. There have been various proposals to rehabilitate the structure including converting it into an exhibition space. In 2001 it was proposed that the lake be enlarged so that a refurbished Pavilion could not be reached by vandals. Indeed, during the summer months the lake attracts dragonflies to the area and it does hold potential to be improved to encourage more wildlife to area, especially if the nearby woodland is also cleaned up.
Entertainment, Shopping and Services
Peterlee holds a two day event called the Peterlee Show, which is held at the end of the summer holidays (usually the first weekend of September) on Helford Road Cricket Ground, which is not far from the Pasmore Pavilion.
Peterlee has seen a number of changes in the last several years, this includes a Bus Station and also a partial covering up of the shopping centre, which was given the name Castle Dene Shopping Centre. A larger ASDA supermarket was built and opened in November 2001. The old ASDA supermarket has been utilised by various retailers in 2002 including a Buckingham Bingo hall, a Global Video rental store, a JD Wetherspoon public house, a Wilkinson store and a Poundworld store.
The latest redevelopment has gained a number of new clothes shops including , Select and The Officers' Club. A brand new , Walter Wall and Storeys Carpets has also opened in the building that once housed Safeway. The town also has an Argos, Boots and various shoe shops, plus a couple of places serving home-made food. After the removal of the old ramp and steps, a new lift and staircase were installed in the market square of the town restoring access to ASDA and various shops and services on the top level. A new Gamestation opened in February 2007, the only specialist video game store in the town since Games Arena closed in 1999. The pub originally known as the Gamecock is now named the Red Lion, offering meals and a carvery. The Argus Butterfly pub has also been refurbished recently. The lower deck carpark near ASDA is used on Bank Holidays for a Market, which in the main sells clothes, tools and music.
Peterlee has plenty of open spaces, fields and trees, with various parks and leisure facilities.
Redevelopment plans within the Eden Hill area of the town have started, with the building of new housing to replace the empty houses that frequent this part of town; the opening of the new building opposite the Royal Arms Pub on Yoden Road has been the start of this areas redevelopment.
Peterlee is situated next to . This area of natural beauty is where you can see Red Squirrels and other wildlife. It also has a golf course nearby.
East Durham College recently showed an amateur production of Fiddler on the Roof back in October 2006, the show received great reviews.
On the 29 January 2005, the band The Arnells played a gig in aid of Tsunami relief at East Durham and Houghall Community College.
Famous residents that lived in Peterlee during the 1970s include The Krankies and Roy Walker, the original presenter of Catchphrase.
In the past few years, Freaky Weasel Promotions have been holding monthly music events to the local people of 14 years plus. This was to replace the popular Sounds Alive nights at East Durham College. The events attract 600+ youngters every month, which seems to be the only event that is tailor-made for such a crowd in the area.
Transport
Road
Peterlee is served by two main roads, The A19 runs to the west of the town leading to Sunderland in the north and Teesside in the south, the A1086 runs to the east of the town leading to Easington in the north and Hartlepool to the south. The B1320 runs through the town centre linking the town to Horden and the A1086 in the east and Shotton Colliery and the A19 in the west. The B1432 runs north from the town centre to Easington Village, Hawthorn and Seaham on the route of the old A19.
Bus
Peterlee is served by Arriva North East and Go North East who provide services around the town the surrounding villages and to Sunderland, Durham, Hartlepool, Stockton, Billingham, Thornaby and Middlesbrough. Scarlett Band also operate the 25 to Spennymoor on part of the old Arriva and United 215 service route to Bishop Auckland. Go North East bought Jayline in 2007 and now run more services around the town and the surrounding villages. Arriva has changed all the services run from the Peterlee depot and the old services had been running for over the past 40 years such as the 242 from Durham to Hartlepool.
Train
Peterlee was served by Horden Railway Station on the Durham Coast Line until it closed in 1964. There have been plans for the station to be rebuilt and then it would be served by Northern Rail services to Seaham, Sunderland, Heworth, Newcastle and the MetroCentre in the north and Hartlepool, Seaton Carew, Billingham, Stockton, Thornaby and Middlesbrough in the south. The service provided by Grand Central between Sunderland and King's Cross could also stop at Horden if there was a station and the residents of the East Durham area would benefit to a direct train service to London. Unfortunately there has been talk but no action of a station.
Education
Primary
- Acre Rigg Infant School
- Acre Rigg Junior School
- Dene House Primary School (Now Dene School of Technology)
- Eden Community Primary School now called Sea Scape Primary
- Howletch Lane Primary School
- Our Lady of the Rosary Roman Catholic Primary School
- Shotton Hall Infant School
- Shotton Hall Junior School
- North Blunts Primary School (Closed in 2003)
Secondary
6th Form Facilities
College
- - The building at the town centre is now closed as the college is now on one site at Howletch. Peterlee Library will remain at it's current site.
Adult Education
- - Learn East is a Skills for Life provider situated on the 6th floor of Lee House in Peterlee Town Centre. Learn East offers a variety of educational services and courses within Peterlee and East Durham for people who want to learn new skills or build up their Literacy and Numeracy Skills.
Government
Town twinning
External links
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