My RHA
The Laurels
21st December 2022 | posted in News
Residents have begun moving into a new housing scheme on the site where comedy legend Stan Laurel went to school – and the development has been named in his honour.
Among those to receive their keys to ‘The Laurels’ were Barbara and Adrian Reed who are living in one of the two-bedroom bungalows built by Railway Housing Association on the former King James School site in Bishop Auckland.
Barbara went to the school when she was young and grew up in Bishop Auckland, so it is a real homecoming for her.
And cricket fan Adrian is also excited as the back of their bungalow faces onto the pitch at Bishop Auckland Cricket Club so he will have a birds’ eye view of the action in 2023.
Barbara and Adrian, both aged 67, were living in Esh Winning but due to health problems Barbara was struggling with the stairs.
The couple were originally offered one of the apartments in the new development as all the bungalows were taken but when someone dropped out, they were offered one and say they couldn’t be happier.
“We are really delighted with our new home. It’s all on one level, has underfloor heating and it’s so quiet here despite being in the middle of town,” said Barbara.
“And the fact I went to school here makes it even more special as it feels like I have come home.”
In total, there are 28 new homes at The Laurels, consisting of 16 two-bedroom bungalows and 12 two-bedroom apartments.
The apartments are on the spot of the former school building, and this meant Railway Housing Association and its local contractor T Manners & Sons Ltd had to sympathetically restore the front of the main Grade II listed building.
This was often referred to as the Laurel Building after the school’s most famous former popular pupil – Stan Laurel - which was badly damaged in a fire in 2007.
All of the bungalows are now occupied, and people will begin moving into the apartments in the new year.
Railway Housing Association Chief Executive Anne Rowlands said: “We’re pleased to be welcoming residents to their new homes at this historic location and to have been able to transform a disused site to provide much-needed, high quality accommodation for older people.
“Retaining the façade was crucial and although the rest of the building needed to be demolished, due to its poor and unstable condition, we have been able to use materials in keeping with its history, including a Victorian-style tiled roof, so we’re very proud of what we have achieve.
The total cost of the development is £5.2 millionwhich includes a grant of £1.1 millionfrom Homes England.
Stan Laurel attended King James School as a boarder between 1902 and 1903.
