Demolition work begins again at Blaydon's doomed Bleech Green estate

Demolition work has begun again on a doomed Gateshead council estate that is to be razed to the ground.

In 2011 Gateshead Council announced it would spend 11m knocking down 175 houses at Bleech Green in Blaydon.

But three weeks ago The Chronicle found that the last remaining residents were still living amid the boarded up and sometimes burnt out ghost town.

Those few owner-occupiers said they felt they were being forced out, with Gateshead Council keen to clear the entire area, so potential house builders have a clean slate to begin again.

I dont agree with anything thats happened, said retired mechanic John Armstrong, 61, who moved into the home he owns on Birch Road 14 years ago.

Im one of the few who actually owned their house of the 176 the council said had to come down I think there was only 16 of us.

When you own your own home and the land it sits on you think you are safe. But basically I feel Ive been forced to move.

A spokesman for Gateshead Council said it plans to raze all of the houses and then grass the area, so potential developers have an empty site to build on.

A first stage of demolition saw homes taken down on Elm Road some time ago, with the area left empty.

The spokesman said that the next phase of demolition could begin before the end of August - with engineers now having moved in to salvage roof tiles, and begin the process of levelling the site.

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Demolition work begins again at Blaydon's doomed Bleech Green estate