I think it's a ludicrous waste of taxpayer cash to resurface a road that's going to be torn up
A man has slammed his local council for a "ludicrous" waste of taxpayer cash after workers resurfaced part of a street that could be torn up in months.
Durham County Council teams were spotted on Fifth Street in Horden, County Durham, last week filling potholes and re-laying a stretch of the road.
But the council has earmarked Fifth Street, and nearby Third Street, for demolition, and is pressing ahead with plans to flatten more than 100 homes there.
The road would also be torn up to make way for the £10.7m plan.
Ninth Street resident Keith Derby said: "To be doing resurfacing in a street that has been marked for demolition just seems ludicrous to me.It's a waste of public money."
The 68-year-old added: "I was driving down to my friend's and saw flashing orange lights along Fifth Street. We had to squeeze past the lorry.
"I wondered, what are they doing?"
Keith went back to look at the road later and found large strips of tarmac had been laid.
But the council say despite demolition plans the road will still be maintained "in accordance with normal policies", and that they were filling in two potholes.
Keith added: "Some were in the middle of the road and about the length of a car.
"Fifth Street is one of the streets that's in the plan to be demolished. If the council were sure the demolition would happen, why would they resurface the road?
"A number of the other numbered streets have holes in them, why don't they do those?"I was just shocked more than anything."
Paul Watson, Durham County Council highways service manager, said: "As an adopted highway, Fifth Street is still inspected and maintained in accordance with our normal policies.
"In this case, we carried out works on the road after identifying two potholes that required repairs to make them safe following a routine highway safety inspection."
Some residents submitted a legal challenge against Durham County Council's plans, which are now on hold due to the battle.
Residents involved in the battle include Ray Bellingham, 68, and sister Moira, who have lived in their Third Street home since they were children.Ray is hoping the legal challenge can overturn the council's plans in their entirety, as the siblings don't want to move.