Shopping centre upgrades to start 'immediately'

Work to transform Middleton Grange Shopping Centre will start "immediately"

The major revamp of a shopping centre is set to start "immediately" after being backed by town chiefs.

Hartlepool's Middleton Grange Shopping Centre will undergo roof repairs and work to its access ramp as part of the £1.4m upgrade.

It comes after Hartlepool Development Corporation negotiated to buy the long lease of the centre last December.

Tees Valley Mayor and Hartlepool Development Corporation chairman Ben Houchen said they were “determined to waste no time in getting on with the job of improving Middleton Grange”.

The latest meeting of the board on Monday unanimously supported moving ahead with the proposals for the centre, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

A report from officers detailed how the maintenance repairs will start “immediately”, with no current requirement for further funding.

The repairs are estimated to cost £1.4m over the next 10 years.

The adjoining Grade-II listed former Binns department store will also undergo roof repairs.

More improvements and the development of the centre will be considered further as part of regeneration plans for the site.