Cost of new substance misuse help centre rises

Hartlepool Borough councillors have agreed to push ahead with work on a new substance misuse treatment centre

The cost of a new substance misuse centre has risen after relocation plans were scrapped.

Hartlepool Borough Council said the town's Start treatment centre on Whitby Street needed to be replaced as it was "no longer fit for purpose".

However, plans for a proposed £3m site for the centre at Roker Street car park were abandoned in July 2023 following hundreds of objections.

Councillors have now backed £3.6m plans to build on the original site.

Proposals to place a new, larger Portakabin modular building on the existing Whitby Street site, were approved at a meeting of the Labour-led council on Thursday.

Improved modern accommodation for staff and service users will also created, the meeting heard.

Due to the change of site and delays, the cost of the building has risen to £3.6m, managing director Denise McGuckin said.

The cost will be met through the previously agreed capital funding of £3m for the project, which will be provided through prudential borrowing, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The borrowing fees will be met via a rental agreement utilising public health grant funding.

The meeting also heard that £27,000 in grant funding and cash from a capital receipt will be used to pay for the project.