NEWTOWN HOUSE UPDATE
MANY Dalefolk may be aware of what is happening at Newtown House, Stanhope, the former
residential care home – but many may not.
It was ten years ago that the people of Weardale fought to retain the Durham County Council care
home. There was a sit-in by the daughter-in-law of the last resident and the local Methodist
Minister, Deacon Sue Peat, chained herself to the railings! It was all to no avail after the local
authority made the decision to close all of the remaining care homes in public ownership.
Since then, the building has stood, silently awaiting a new life. It was once the Newtown Hotel, a
fashionable destination for those seeking the countryside air but had been a care home for decades
and incorporated an annexe where older and disabled local people could visit for day trips, managed
carefully and efficiently by Angela Walton.
Situated as it is beside the river Wear, it enjoyed extensive and well-cared for gardens and the
interior was just as it had been as a hotel. A beautiful sweeping staircase with stained glass windows;
huge rooms overlooking the garden and the river; every amenity. The residents, mostly local,
enjoyed living there and within easy reach of their families.
None of this mattered to the local authority which had made the decision and the residents were
moved out to other locations and staff – many who had given many years of excellent service – were
left without jobs. As the weeks of vacancy turned into months the building was left uncared for as
were the extensive grounds, which at one point had benefited from a large vegetable garden, which
served the home.
The Gazette has been asking questions as to what will become of it after a decade of unuse. It has
been sold and is now in private hands AND there has been a planning application, already approved
by councillors on Durham County Council’s Planning Committee last year. ( You can view the
application here: DM/23/03550/FPA | Conversion of a former care home into 8 apartments
consisting of 3 x 1 bed, 2 x 2 bed and 3 x 3 bed, including 1 new window to the north elevation. |
Newtown House Stanhope Bishop Auckland DL13 2PG )
Newtown House will be made into eight apartments as the application shows but to date, as far as
the Gazette can tell, no work visible from the exterior has been started.
The planning application was a full one and every aspect of the building, its history and what the
new purpose for it, was examined by councillors before they approved it. No objections were
received against the planning application. And so, Newtown House enters another stage of its long
history.
We hope this explains matters for those who wondered what was transpiring.
