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Church Street in the 1960s

We visited Seaham to look at how the small town has changed in comparison with the 1960s. The video shows how Seaham used to look in the 1960s compared to how the exact same locations looks today including Church Street, the coastline and the new shopping mall under construction.

Derek Bland is the secretary of the Seaham branch of Royal British Legion and he has lived in Seaham all his life. Derek explains how Seaham has changed since the closing of the pits and beyond:

"The last five years have seen a tremendous change. When the pits closed they stood empty for a long time but the sites have been filled up now with good houses, bringing in a lot of people spending money in Seaham.

"Across at Dawdon there are loads of factories being built and it's ongoing, so it can only be good for the town.

"But they have got to look after the youth as well and bring something in for them to keep them here and entertain them while they're here.

"If you saw a car in the street, somebody was rich. The only taxi you saw was Lynn's at Dawdon and if you saw that you would think there was a wedding on. It used to cost a penny and a ha-penny to go to Dawdon pit."

Church Street in 2007

Just a dormitory town?

Derek is more than happy to see a new supermarket open in Seaham:

"It [The new mall] is the best thing that has happened to Seaham in years. It will bring in business, trading and jobs. Since the demise of the pits we're just a dormitory town. People sleep here and then go to work. So it will bring business and jobs, which is a good thing I think!"