Peterlee celebrates 75 years of green growth with man who helped build town

IT was regarded as the antidote to Durham’s declining coal-mining villages with its Mediterranean-feel housing and its rural green setting and although Peterleee’s progress has not been without its hiccups, there is plenty to celebrate as the ‘new town’ marks its 75th birthday.

In particular, it’s worth remembering the way that the creation of green spaces was put at the very heart of the new development.
Those sort of themes will come under scrutiny as Durham County Council marks year-long celebrations for the three-quarters-of-a-century milestone for Peterlee, which was established as a New Town in 1948.
The celebrations began with the opening of Peterlee: The Place to Be, in Castle Dene Shopping Centre, an exhibition which features over 100 photographs and working drawings telling the story of how the town came to be.
The exhibition is available to view until Saturday, October 28th.
Planned to open later in the year, the Living Memory Project aims to offer a different perspective on the story of Peterlee from the people who called, and still call, the town home.
For this, the council is calling for people to come forward with personal photos, memorabilia, and related stories they have of living in the town.
Of those to have already contributed to the Living Memory Project is John Nelson, 84, who helped to build the early phase of Peterlee and now lives in the last remaining cantilever house in the town that is unaltered from its original design.

John’s father was one of the first builders to work in Peterlee and, upon leaving school at 15, John followed in his footsteps and joined the construction industry.

In 1960, John was building the shops along Burnhope Way and Yoden Way at the time of a royal visit from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, during which he was able to get a glimpse of the royal car from the upper windows of the shops as it drove past.
John and his wife Anne have lived in Peterlee since 1966 and in their current home for the last 46 years.
Where the houses around them have since been modified, or demolished and rebuilt, their home still has the original flat roof and white panelling from when the estate was first built.
John said: “When the estate was built in the early 1960s there were 10 of these cantilever-style houses. “Ours is the only one remaining, which is something Anne and me are very proud of.

“We feel very lucky because there is so much green open space around us, front and back – it’s one of the reasons that we’ve never wanted to leave.
John has contributed photographs of himself and his father from the 1950s and 1960s for the Living Memory Project, which will go on display later in the year.
To find out more about Living Memory and how to get involved, email memories@alisonlister.com , or visit www.peterlee75.