Contrary to popular belief, Woodhouse Close, in Bishop Auckland, has a lot to be proud of and this week residents will celebrate the estate's 50th anniversary with an arts festival looking at life in the close-knit streets where they live and how they have developed over the years. Helen Miller looks at the area through the eyes of the community.

IT IS hard not to believe the stigma attached to the Woodhouse Close Estate when you see boarded-up houses and graffiti. But these places are now in a minority and below the surface is a blossoming community which knows there is more to the place than meets the eye.

The council estate was built in the early 1950s on old farmland, primarily to house people living in Category D villages, such as Witton Park and Eldon, which Durham County Council felt could no longer be sustained after the smaller mines started closing.

It was the start of a new community and over the years, key buildings such as the church, Auckland Youth and Community Centre and Proudfoot Drive Community Centre have become the hub of its society.

It was in these places that the idea for a week-long festival of celebrations for the estate's 50th anniversary began.

Wooodhouse Arts Support Programme (Wasp), which was founded by local actress and artist Jane Crawford and local councillor John Lethbridge with funding from Durham County Council and the County Durham Foundation, has set out to show what has been, and can be, achieved by the people living there through a series of workshops and exhibitions that will hopefully change the outside world's view for the better.

Wasp has brought together representatives from other groups that are all striving to clean up the estate and clear its bad name.

Miss Crawford said: "There is a lot going on here.

"Woodhouse really has a lot to be proud of. You can write it all down on paper but when you go along and see what is being done here, it is amazing.''

This weekend, popular North-East children's author Terry Deary spoke warmly of the estate as he kick-started the festival at Woodhouse Close Library, saying it was one of the nicest places he had visited.

The residents hope the rest of the town will see how hard it has fought back against drugs and anti-social behaviour, following the launch of the Wear Valley street wardens and the demolition of derelict houses on Ford Way.

Chair of Woodhouse Close Residents Association Doreen Kett, who has lived on the estate since 1955, said "I feel so much safer now walking the streets. We accept that there are drugs in a part of the estate but they will go, it will get better. We are proud of where we live.''

Highlights of the festival include an exhibition looking at the history of the estate at Bishop Auckland Discovery Centre, a performance by drama group Woodhouse Acting Silly Harry's and a lantern parade. There will be a series of arts workshops throughout the rest of the week.