Call for rethink on major homes plan for Hartlepool

There are fears that the TMD Friction factory could close if plans for almost 200 homes to be built nearby get the go-ahead.

Plans for a 189-home development at Oakesway Industrial Estate have been submitted to Hartlepool Borough Council by the government’s housing delivery agency, Homes England.

Brake pad manufacturer TMD Friction, which is the town’s third-biggest employer with 450 full-time staff, is currently based at the business park.

Land at the industrial estate which has been planned for a housing development.

It accounts for half of the entire estate’s employees, but Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen has warned that should the development go ahead, the firm could be forced to close its factory there.

Mayor Houchen has stepped in, and has written to Homes England chairman Sir Edward Lister urging him to withdraw the plans.

Homes England, meanwhile, says it is in talks with the Tees Valley Combined Authority about the estate, including the possibility of selling the land.

Mayor Houchen said: “As one of the single largest employers in Hartlepool with huge prospects of expansion, TMD Friction is vastly important to the town and the wider Tees Valley economy.

“This industrial site has the potential for further investment from existing businesses, so it is clearly not the right area for more homes.

“If these homes are built, it’ll be bad news for the town’s economy.

“I will be visiting TMD Friction in the coming weeks to further understand their challenges.

“In the meantime, I implore Homes England to reconsider the proposals that could lead to hundreds of vital jobs being lost.”

In an objection to the planning application, a statement on behalf of TMD Friction cited a number of factors, including its need to operate 24 hours a day with limited impact on neighbouring properties and concerns over potential complaints from future nearby residents over issues including noise and smell.

The factory was built in 1997.

Liam Booth, TMD Friction UK’s Hartlepool senior operations manager, said: “We have had previous experience with residential developments negatively impacting our business and are nervous this will happen again.

“TMD Friction is committed to a bright future in Hartlepool, to the livelihoods of our hard-working staff and the wider community that our employees belong to.

“We applaud Mayor Houchen for getting involved to try to get Homes England to rethink their wholly inappropriate development plans and look forward to meeting him soon.”

Homes England recently changed its name from the Homes and Communities Agency.

Marie Kiddell, head of public sector land at Homes England, said: “Homes England is in dialogue with the Tees Valley Combined Authority about the future opportunities for the Oakesway Estate, including selling all or part of the land to the interested parties.

“We will continue with our discussions until a suitable deal is concluded.”

A Hartlepool Borough Council spokesman said: “We can confirm that the council has received an outline planning application from the Homes and Communities Agency for up to 189 residential dwellings and up to 23,400 square metres of business space on Oakesway Business Park.

“This application will be considered by the council in due course and until then it would not be appropriate for the council to comment further.”