THE fate of a prominent building, formerly used as an old people's home, comes under discussion later this week.

The future of Glenroyd House, in Consett, hangs in the balance because of an increasing amount of necessary repairs.

Durham County Council will discuss what to do with the premises, in Medomsley Road, at Thursday's cabinet meeting.

The property, apart from serving as a home for elderly people, has also been used by the voluntary sector to support community groups.

Vandals have caused severe damage to the empty building, and thieves stole copper piping, in September.

The cabinet has two options:

* The council could contribute £60,000 to carry out repairs and lease it back to Derwentside District Council for use by voluntary groups;

* Or it could demolish the building, and sell the land for development.

Lesley Davies, the county council's acting director of corporate services, said: "From a property management perspective, it's difficult to justify the reinstatement expenditure to enable the property to be let at a peppercorn rental.

"There are numerous projects to be funded from available budgets, and to make funding available for Glenroyd House would have a significant impact on prioritising funding for other budgets."

Derwentside District Council leader Alex Watson, whose Consett North ward includes Glenroyd House, urged the council to demolish the building.

He said: "It is a bad building, on a dangerous bend, and it causes bottlenecks of traffic when people are stopping to enter. It is accident prone, and there have been a lot of minor accidents, plus some serious ones.

"It attracts people who want to break into it and set fire to it.

"It's nothing but trouble, and is fast becoming an eyesore. I would pull it down."