NEARLY £200,000 of public money has been used to buy two pubs, in order to knock them down.

Stockton Borough Council has bought The Brown Jug on Norton Road for £140,000 and The Spotted Cow on Major Street for £57,000.

Both pubs will be destroyed as part of the partial demolition and regeneration of the Victoria estate and Swainby Road area.

A plan to destroy most of the 254-dwelling Victoria Road estate and build new homes and supermarket was agreed by the council last year. Nearly 140 houses were bulldozed around Swainby Road, Danby Road and Ayton Place early this year, with more planned.

Stockton council’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Community Safety, Coun Steve Nelson, said: “Stockton Council is committed to delivering an ambitious housing regeneration programme across the borough as one way of working towards ensuring all residents can enjoy good quality housing.

“The acquisition of the Brown Jug on Norton Road and The Spotted Cow on Major Street for future demolition is a further step towards the on-going redevelopment of the Swainby Road and Victoria Estate areas.”