Exciting new floating '˜homes' planned on Hartlepool Marina

A community of up to 10 designer pods, specifically built for life on the water, has been revealed by developers.

Each comes fully fitted with a fridge freezer, kitchenette, hot plates, bed, widescreen television and a private deck.

The exciting new jobs-boosting village could spring up soon at Hartlepool Marina where a prototype has already been built.

That show home will become what is believed to be the UK’s first floating hotel - or as developer Luke Robertson brands it a ‘flotelroom’. Bookings will be taken from next month.

It will charge between £65 and £75 per night depending on the season but that’s just one use for the exciting new pods which have been created by Hartlepool entrepreneur Luke.

Luke, who owns the Robertson Marine Group, is the brainchild behind the idea which he first thought of when he bought some of the buildings which were used at the 2012 Olympics.

He has teamed up with Hartlepool Marina to set up On Water Living,

He hoped to turn the Olympic units into floating homes but he found they were too heavy. Despite the setback, it set him on his journey to creating his dream.

Luke began working out float and buoyancy calculations and then built his model. It is fully equipped with everything a person needs for an ideal getaway.

The official launch of the new project will be held next month but On Water Living has already been launched to promote the units.

Luke’s aim is to open up life on the water for more people and has told how there are already exciting plans to go further than just one pod in the town. It could eventually become a village of 8-10 units if the demand is there.

And pods will also be built to order for people who want to buy them and move them to other parts of the country.

“They are easily transportable and suitable to hold quite a few people,” he said.

“I could see a gap in the market with the likes of the Lake District, national parks and marinas all around.

“I have always lived in Hartlepool and always lived by the sea, and been around the jet skis.”

“Going forward, we have a full projection target to do five pods every month with all aspects of finish inside.”

They have a living area, they are 8.5ft high and have a total area of 172sq ft and the On Water Living team believes everyone from marinas to fishing lakes could be ideal venues for people wanting to have pods to take away.

They can even come with underwater cameras for ‘residents’ to experience the sealife underneath their new homes.

They can have different deck sizes, double beds and whatever else an investor wants.

Within Hartlepool, Luke said there would be a “gradual build up to a floating village. It would create jobs at Hartlepool Marina for up to five staff.”

Luke’s dream began shaping up in January and has become reality in the months since.

He said: “I have worked on it for quite a while and it is great to just get it out there.”

Hartlepool Marina director Adam Henderson described the whole venture as “very exciting.”

He said it would challenge the idea that “Hartlepool Marina was a lovely place for a coffee, tea or ice cream but if you want to go on the water, you have to have a boat or lots of money.

“It’s a stigma but the reality is quite the opposite.”

The project, he said, was opening up Hartlepool Marina to “more townspeople and those further afield.”