is a
New Town in
County Durham ,
England . Founded in
1948 , the town is named after
Peter Lee , a prominent local
Miner , and originally mostly housed coal miners.
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 . A deputation, mostly if not all working
Miners from the
Easington District Council , 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, itself a
Pit Village .
The Peterlee Development Corporation was established in 1948 under the direction of A V Williams. The original masterplan by
Berthold Lubetkin was rejected. In a bold move Williams invited an artist
Victor Pasmore to be head of the design team. The pavilion was completed in 1970 at centre of the Sunny Blunts estate and was named for the Apollo Space Programme. As well as a visual focus the structure acted as a bridge across a small lake. However the structure became a meeting point for local youths and was soon defaced with graffiti. In mid-1980s 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 apponted. The project contained three distinct parts:
- to develop an ongoing process of collecting and diseminating 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
More information on The Peterlee Project can be found on its web site.
A notable building in the town is the
Apollo Pavilion also known as the 'Pasmore Pavilion' after its designer
Victor Pasmore , which has in recent times fallen into disrepair. Some local residents are now petitioning the council to have it demolished, citing it as an eyesore. Locals also refer to the Pavilion as 'the Monstrosity'.
On the
29 January 2005 , the celebrated north-east band Joe Byrne played a gig in aid of Tsunami relief at East Durham and Houghall Community College.
Since 1981, Peterlee has a town-twinning with the German town of
Nordenham on the river Weser in Lower Saxony opposite to
Bremerhaven .
Famous residents that lived in Peterlee during the 1970's include
The Krankies and
Roy Walker , the original presenter of Catchphrase.
- Acre Rigg Infant
- Acre Rigg Junior
- Cotsford Infant (Horden)
- Cotsford Junior (Horden)
- Dene House Primary
- Eden Community Primary
- Howletch Lane Primary
- Shotton Hall
- North Blunts Primary (Closed in 2003)
- EDHCC (East Durham & Houghall Community College)
