Council given more time for town centre plans

Hartlepool Borough Council said suspending the deadline gave it more time to consult with residents

A council has said it is "delighted" to have been given more time to submit plans to regenerate its town centre.

Hartlepool Borough Council is set to receive £20m in funding from the government's Long-term Plan for Towns programme.

But the council warned the original 1 August deadline to submit its investment plan would not have given it enough time to "involve local people".

Councillor Pamela Hargreaves said the deadline had been suspended, which has given the council the "proper time" to deliver "lasting change".

Hartlepool Borough Council said the deadline had proved particularly difficult to meet because it had been forced to pause its public consultation in the run up to the local and national elections.

Ms Hargreaves, the chair of the council's economic growth and regeneration committee, said she had written to Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner to tell her the deadline had "always been challenging".

"We want to ensure our submission clearly demonstrates that it has been developed with, and is co-owned by, our local communities," she said.

Hartlepool was one of 55 towns selected by the government for its first tranche of funding from the Long-term Plan for Towns.