Hartlepool development: Shopping centre revamp part of plans

The masterplan would require 'significant' investment

A shopping centre regeneration and new transport hub are set to form part of ambitious long-term plans to develop Hartlepool.

The council has secured £25m of government funding which is being used to improve towns.

The new masterplan could also see the waterfront improved if councillors back proposals next week.

However, "significant investment" would be still be needed for all the work to be carried out, a report said.

A recent consultation showed 76% of 71 business owners who responded thought the "quality of the town centre was a problem".

'Consolidated town centre'

The masterplan process identified four key zones for change, around Middleton Grange Shopping Centre, Church Street, the waterfront and the area surrounding Mill House Leisure Centre and Victoria Park.

It has an aim to set out a long-term framework for the town to help "renew and reshape the physical environment" to ensure sustainable growth in skills, jobs, accessibility and connectivity.

"Ripple effects" of such developments, according to the plans, could include promoting creative land use near Church Street, creating housing in the town centre, and helping integrate leisure facilities.

Residents who responded to a consultation said they wanted better retail

A report from council director of resources and development Chris Little, to go before councillors next week, states the plans together can have a "transformative effect" on the town.

"It focuses on the need to create a more consolidated town centre, with a unique heart and waterfront, developing a healthy economy to sustainably support the future of the town," he said.

While the interventions and projects within the masterplan all require "significant investment", he noted it allowed the council to have "ready-made projects on the shelf" for any future regeneration money.

It comes after council chiefs recently stated they would submit a revised bid to the Levelling Up Fund in Spring 2022, after being unsuccessful with their initial application, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.