Hartlepool council chief says 'determination and persistence has finally paid off' as Longscar centre is finally demolished in Seaton Carew

Councillor Christopher Akers-Belcher said the owners’ decision to flatten the derelict building was the direct result of pressure applied by the authority.

Bulldozers moved in over the weekend – several months after the council served a legal notice on the owners ordering them to either repair the building or knock it down.

Now it has been demolished, the council’s legal notice requires that all of the rubbish and rubble is removed and safely disposed of.

Council chiefs say it is expected that this process will be completed by the owners in the very near future.

The Longscar Centre, which was gutted in a major blaze in May last year, is next to a new children’s play area created as part of a wider £1.3 million regeneration scheme in Seaton Carew.

Coun Akers-Belcher said: “As a council, we have worked long and hard to resolve the issue of the derelict Longscar Centre and I am delighted that our determination and persistence has finally paid off.

“It is great news for Seaton Carew and Hartlepool as a whole that the building has been demolished.

“The new children’s play area has proved really popular and is well used by both residents and visitors but it has always been overshadowed by this eyesore. Thankfully, that is now no longer the case.

“A lot of work has been carried out by council officers to successfully bring about the Longscar Centre’s demolition and I would like to thank them for their efforts.”

Prior to the fire, the council attempted to secure a Compulsory Purchase Order on the empty building to take it into the authority’s ownership but the move was rejected by a Government-appointed planning inspector.