Improvement works to Hartlepool's Middleton Grange Shopping Centre set to start 'immediately' following takeover

Hartlepool Development Corporation finalised an agreement in late December with Mars Pension Trustees to buy the long lease for the shopping centre which is home to big name retailers including Primark and River Island.

The development corporation says several structural issues requiring repair were discovered along with many areas for further improvement.

A report to be discussed at the next Hartlepool Development Corporation Board meeting on Monday, February 19, sets out how work will start immediately.

The cost of maintenance repairs is estimated at £1.4million over the next 10 years – deducted from the purchase price.

It includes work to repair the centre’s access ramp and roof repairs to the centre and the adjoining Grade-II listed former Binns and Wilko department store.

Tees Valley Mayor and Hartlepool Development Corporation Chairman Ben Houchen said: “We are determined to waste no time in getting on with the job of improving Middleton Grange and these improvements come less than two months after the deal to take control was done.

“The centre is in dire need of investment to bring it up to the standard that Hartlepool shoppers deserve. Getting control means we can move quickly to deliver the improvements that are so badly required.

“This is just the first stage in our plan to drive forward the transformation of Hartlepool and ensure the town centre is a vibrant and welcoming place where people can shop and relax.”

The report also details plans to increase in the centre’s marketing budget to drive greater shopper numbers. The cost of the additional marketing will be funded by a surplus in net operating income.

Mayor Houchen previously said the shopping centre is a “hugely important part” of the development corporation’s plans to transform Hartlepool town centre.

Current plans include regenerated public spaces and new frontage while opening the centre up to a wider range of uses beyond retail.

Under the agreement Hartlepool Borough Council retains the freehold of the site, with the HDC Board appointing asset and property managers to oversee Middleton Grange on its behalf.