PLANS have been submitted to Durham County Council for the demolition of an eyesore former library to make way for a community garden.

Spennymoor Branch Library, in Cheapside, Spennymoor, is due to be demolished later this month.

All asbestos containing materials discovered during the pre-demolition survey are to be removed by a licensed asbestos contractor.

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The demolition of the five empty buildings will pave the way for a new walled garden and is expected to take up to seven weeks.

Areas including Festival Walk and the marketplace will also be redeveloped as part of the local programme of upgrading town centres.

News of the redevelopment comes after it was revealed Spennymoor would benefit from £20m government funding to improve towns. A new town board has recently been set up to oversee the delivery of the new investment plan.

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The funding will be put towards high street heritage and regeneration; transport and connectivity; and safety and security.

The plans involve a contractor erecting mesh panel fencing to form exclusion zones around redundant building.

The perimeter fencing will display warning signs at prominent positions.

Only demolition personnel will be permitted within the fenced off area unless authorised to enter by the site supervisor.

All asbestos identified in the pre-demolition survey will be removed prior to the commencement of the demolition, if during the works further asbestos is identified work will cease and the client informed. The method statement will be modified accordingly.

Noise and dust will be kept to a minimum and the working times are Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm.

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Where possible miscellaneous debris and any non-structural timber will be removed from the buildings prior to the demolition work commencing.

Debris will be placed into skips which will be sited in a designated fenced off area.

The skips will be sheeted to prevent dust release and taken to appropriate waste disposal sites.