Former welfare club now a 'crying shame'
BBCA representative of a former pit village says locals feel let down after their miners' welfare club was sold with no apparent benefit to the community.
The hall in Dawdon, near Seaham, County Durham, was funded by the work of local miners and featured in the film Billy Elliot.
But after being auctioned off by the coalfield charity Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation (CISWO), the club, which was built in 1909, is now empty and has recently been used as an illegal cannabis farm.
Independent town councillor Bob Arthur says miners whose work helped finance its construction and running costs would be "turning in their graves".
The steep decline of what was once a thriving hub for the community began when the Dawdon pit closed in 1991.
The building did feature in the movie Billy Elliot in 2000, when Billy's father runs through Dawdon to the hall to tell fellow miners about his son's successful audition for the Royal Ballet.
But the club shut in 2020 and was put up for sale two years later.
Auction EstatesIt was sold to a developer for £152,000 in January 2023, and after any debts were paid, the remaining money went to the national mining charity the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation (CISWO).
It was then sold on again by its new owner in July 2023 for £130,000, but has remained empty since then.
Last November, officers from Durham Constabulary raided the premises and they discovered 500 cannabis plants and extensive growing equipment.
Two men were arrested and have been charged with producing a controlled Class B drug.
They were remanded in custody and are due to appear at Durham Crown Court on 28 February.
There is no suggestion the current owners had any knowledge of the alleged criminal use of the site.
Auction EstatesBob Arthur, Dawdon's local representative on Seaham town council, said the building had turned from the village's greatest asset into one of its biggest problems.
"In its heyday it was a venue for everything from wedding receptions to funeral wakes - it was the heart of the community," he said.
"The state it's in now, it's a crying shame."
"There's many miners that used to come here regularly, and many have passed on now.
"They would turn in their graves if they could see what it looks like now."
He is also concerned the community has gained nothing from the sale, with no evidence, he says, of CISWO reinvesting any of the proceeds into Dawdon.
He said: "I am not aware of a penny from that sale that has ever come back into the community."
That is a concern echoed in other former coalfield areas.
A BBC investigation has found that 27 former miners' welfare buildings have been sold off by CISWO in the last 14 years for £12.2m.
They date back more than 100 years to when social welfare pots - funded by payments out of miners' earnings - paved the way for their creation, but CISWO does not earmark the proceeds of any sales for an individual community.
The charity told the BBC it "cannot ringfence funds for specific use in only one area", and that the money it makes is used to support former mining communities across the UK. It says many of the buildings had been closed for some years.
When asked specifically about the sale of the Dawdon club, the charity did not give any further response.
Auction EstatesNow, though, CISWO is coming under pressure to change its policy.
A group of Labour MPs are calling for residual funds from welfare schemes to be retained locally.
In a letter sent to CISWO only a couple of weeks ago it said "we do not accept that this would not be feasible".
One of those who signed it was Blyth and Ashington MP Ian Lavery, who used to be a coal miner in Northumberland.
He said: "That money should be refocused and ringfenced in those communities.
"This money was put into the funds of CISWO by the coal production and pits around our area because of the people who worked in the mining industry.
"We in the area should receive our fair share rather than it be stuck in a treasure chest in CISWO nationally waiting for us to plead for crumbs off the table."
CISWO has not commented on the contents of the letter.
In the past eight years, it has cut the number of its services and its spend through its grants scheme, with around 70% fewer miners and families receiving charity grants, and its education grants scheme has reduced by 30%.
The charity said it had seen costs rise and fewer people seeking support, but insisted it "carries out enormous good works" and had supported more than 130,000 miners or family members over the past 14 years, with more than £8m in grants.