As thousands of voters in the North East get set to decide the region’s first mayor, people in East Durham are asking whether the new role will support the area or prove to be another false dawn. 

Blackhall Community Centre plays a vital role in the area by opening its doors and offering a helping hand to hundreds of people struggling to get by or simply looking for somewhere to host a knitting class. Tireless and dedicated volunteers have worked out of the hub for 20 years, and while there has been progress in providing more services, its presence is more important than ever. 

Communities in the region's former coalfields - which include Horden, Easington and Peterlee - suffer from a lack of jobs and opportunities than elsewhere. The area is often associated with decline, and locals want to know how the new mayor can support them. 

Alison Paterson, manager at the community centre, appeared at a BBC hustings last week to ask how each candidate will support nearby ex-mining villages. She said: “What will you do for East Durham and the former coalfield regions to stop us being more left-behind than we already are?”

The Northern Echo: Alison Paterson, manager at the community centre, appeared at a hustings last week to ask how each candidate will support nearby ex-mining villages.Alison Paterson, manager at the community centre, appeared at a hustings last week to ask how each candidate will support nearby ex-mining villages. (Image: The Northern Echo)

A week after the debate took place Ms Paterson explains what inspired her to ask the question. “It was born out of anger. I was born and bred in Blackhall - I’m a miner’s daughter - and I spend a lot of my days helping people who are desperate,” she explained. 

“We don’t have a metro or a train station. We’re left behind from Newcastle, Gateshead and Sunderland, as well as being left behind from the rest of the country. I wanted to know what they are going to do to back up all the great work we’re already doing in East Durham.”

Ms Paterson says she is still unsatisfied with the candidate’s answers but did hear from Labour candidate Kim McGuinness who then visited the community centre on Monday. It was her answer, Ms Paterson said, that resonated the most with what people are concerned about in the area. 

Ms McGuinness replied: “When I talk to people in East Durham they talk about being cut off from the public transport network. We need our buses back under public control, so those people can have a say about where they need to get to. There’s a lot of run-down private landlord housing which we need to get a grip on.”

The Northern Echo: Candidates were involved in a BBC debate ahead of the election next weekCandidates were involved in a BBC debate ahead of the election next week (Image: BBC)

Other responses included Jamie Driscoll (Independent) discussing how a scheme in Blyth could be replicated in the area; Paul Donaghy (Reform) referencing North Durham; Guy Renner-Thompson (Conservative) talking about the Leamside Line; Aidan King (Liberal Democrat) talking up wind power investment; and Andrew Gray (Green) pledging to host community engagement events. 

“Come and live and breathe in our shoes for a week and see what it’s really like,” she pleaded to the candidates. 

A recent report by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust said job growth in former pit areas was slower than outside, and called for more support for these communities. It also found the shortage of local jobs meant many young people had moved away and others commute to neighbouring towns and cities to work.

But Ms Paterson is eager to celebrate the positives. She said: “Not everybody is living in poverty or starving, and what we’re trying to do is raise the aspirations of people. We want to see East Durham succeed and see people from here walking on the moon or dancing on Broadway.”

Giving people that sense of belief and can-do attitude is central to the work of the dozens of volunteers at the community centre. No two days are the same at the “hub of the community”, which hosts dance classes, a cafe and a gym. Support is also on hand to provide a warm hub, food parcels and benefits checks. 

“There’s nothing that we won’t do and that’s been built up over the last 20 years,” said Ms Paterson. 

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Just one day volunteering at Blackhall Community Centre can seem a world away from the world of politics. So, how engaged are people with next week’s vote? Ms Paterson isn’t convinced. 

“It’s still very alien to people. They are asking ‘why do we need a mayor?’ People aren’t involved with politics anymore, and I don’t think what is decided on May 2 will change people’s lives. Little Ethel is not going to benefit from anything the mayor does. But with the backing of the mayor on what we’re doing, that can make a difference. 

“The mayor is not going to have the same effect as community groups like us. People believe in a familiar face and somebody they can relate to.”