Major plans for expansion of Hartlepool's Northern Studios and Church Street regeneration due to be decided
A long-time derelict pub in Hartlepool’s Church Street is set to be restored and transformed as part of exciting plans to expand the town’s film and TV studios.
Planning applications are set to be decided next week for the former Shades bar and nightclub as well as for neighbouring Church Street buildings and an expansion of the Northern Studios, in Lynn Street.
Built in 1868, the Grade II listed Shades building has been vacant for over a decade with remedial works carried out by council chiefs in recent years.
A joint application by Hartlepool Borough Council, Tees Valley Combined Authority and The Northern School of Art will go before a meeting of Hartlepool Development Corporation Planning Board on Tuesday, September 16.
It proposes a series of repairs and renovations to Shades including partial demolition, restoration of the facade, replacement doors and windows and installation of a lift.
The application also seeks to carry out alterations to 10-14 Church Street to serve as the “managerial hub” for the wider production village supporting film and TV productions at The Northern Studios.
The studios themselves are also set to be extended with a proposed new concierge courtyard serving as the primary arrival point.
Existing studio spaces, which are said do not meet modern industry standards, are planned to be replaced with two independent purpose-built soundstages, allowing for filming and set constructions on simultaneous productions.
The application states: “The production village will bring disused buildings across Hartlepool town centre back into use and the repurposed buildings will become creative workspaces and areas to house screen industry professionals and equipment.
"The expansion of the Northern Studios is to attract a broader range of productions, from TV dramas to large-scale film projects.”
The studios have been used to film and support a number of high-profile productions including 2023 crime thriller Jackdaw and TV comedy series Transaction.
The plans for Shades have attracted support from numerous civic bodies including Hartlepool Civic Society, which describe it as “a masterful exercise on bringing this architectural masterpiece back to its glorious best”.
And Historic England says the building is “a remarkable survival of late Victorian/Edwardian architectural display and a great asset to the street”.
The planning board meeting will be held at The Bis, in Whitby Street, Hartlepool, at 4pm.