PUBLIC money totalling £20,000 has been provided towards the cost of demolishing four buildings on Hartlepool's Headland.
The empty buildings to be bulldozed include the former Friarage sports hall and youth centre and buildings associated with the former Henry Smith Grammar School.
The money has been granted to Hartlepool Borough Council from The North Hartlepool Trust, the organisation responsible for the regeneration of the area.
The last of the buildings closed last year and since then they have been a target for vandals.
Councillor John Marshall, chairman of the North Hartlepool Partnership, said: "The demolition would certainly be a major benefit to people living in the vicinity and to the Headland as a whole."
His feelings were echoed by fellow North Hartlepool Partnership board members, Councillor John Cambridge and Councillor Rob Cook.
Coun Cambridge said: "People living in the area around the empty buildings have been asking for the buildings to be demolished for the past two years. We hope that this grant will help move the demolition process forward.
"This substantial grant proves that the members of the North Hartlepool Partnership feel that the demolition of these derelict buildings is of paramount importance to the Headland."
Hartlepool Council is, in association with other interested parties, exploring avenues to find the remaining funding needed to enable the demolition to go ahead.
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