Plans to demolish former Hartlepool social club to make way for £12million student village

Rob Collier outside the former Engineers Social Club which has been fenced off ahead of redevelopment plans.

Rob Collier and John Wood MBE, directors of Advanced Retail Solutions Ltd, plan to demolish the former Engineers Social Club in Raby Road to make way for a new £10million-£12million student accommodation ‘village’ known as SV24.

The site was secured with fencing this week and it is hoped to start demolition of the run-down club in four to six weeks subject to permission from Hartlepool Borough Council.

The building has been subject to repeated break-ins and antisocial behaviour, including drug use, since closing three years ago.

A computer generated image of how the new student village may look from the street. For illustration purposes only.

Mr Collier said: "The biggest issue at the moment is with crime and antisocial behaviour. It's an eyesore.

“The whole idea is to develop it completely, clean everything up and bring it back to life.

"This site fits in massively with the regeneration of the Raby Road area.

"It needs redeveloping. It’s a disservice to the town.

Inside the Engineers Social Club ahead of demolition and development plans.

"The town is getting bigger and nobody wants a run down building in the centre of it.”

It is proposed to build 184 student apartments with gated access and seven ground floor shop units with CCTV and 24-hour security on the one-acre site which also includes disused land at the rear of Advanced House.

Managing director Mr Collier said a pre-application enquiry submitted to the council has had a favourable response.

He added: “It’s a really big development, one of the biggest Hartlepool has seen in a long time.

"The colleges have been extremely positive about it and the public feedback has been great.

"The demand for the accommodation is there. There are a lot of students living in poor condition private lets.”

Mr Collier said they are working with the council to go through the correct procedures and will seek full planning permission following the demolition.

He said they were getting an up to date ecology survey but said there are no protected birds or wildlife on the site.

The plans follow Advanced Retail Solutions' refurbishment of the former Clarence House building into new offices and beauty and haircare distributor.

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Plans to demolish former Hartlepool social club to make way for £12million student village

A message from the Editor:

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to the Hartlepool Mail website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app.

With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit here to sign up. You can subscribe to the newspaper with 20% off here.

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