HUNDREDS of low-cost homes will be built on former hospital sites.
The Department of Health has identified 13 surplus NHS sites in the North-East that will be transferred for housing to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
The sites are among more than 100 across the country that will be transferred to tackle housing shortages and the lack of affordable homes for front-line public sector workers, such as teachers and nurses.
More than 15,000 homes will be built nationally, about a third of which will be low-cost. Money from the sale of the sites to private developers and housing associations will be pumped back into the health service.
In County Durham the following sites will be transferred: Homelands Hospital, Crook; Maiden Law Hospital; Aycliffe Hospital, Newton Aycliffe; Tindale Crescent in Bishop Auckland; Shotley Bridge Hospital, Consett.
A spokeswoman for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister could not confirm how many houses would be built on the North-East sites.
She said: "The sites will be developed by the private sector and at the moment it has not been decided how many will be built or how many will be affordable housing."
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