This is how Hartlepool's main shopping centre may look after £25m town revamp

The artist’s impression comes ahead of an important meeting in which councillors will be asked to back the project and send it to the Government for final approval.

The reimagining of Middleton Grange Shopping Centre is the fifth and final Hartlepool Town Deal project.

It includes the restoration of the Grade II Listed former Binns building to create a range of flexible spaces.

A new “gateway” entrance to the shopping centre from Stockton Road will be created and there will be improved access from all parts of the town centre.

Councillor Shane Moore, leader of the council and chair of the finance and policy committee, said: “These are very exciting times for Hartlepool.

"The former Binns building is a much-loved landmark which holds fond memories for many people and its location opposite the former Wesley Chapel – itself the subject of a separate Hartlepool Town Deal restoration scheme – means that we have an opportunity to really transform the town centre.

“The remodelling proposed will also enable us to create the space for an eye-catching public square which will to open up and improve this area.”

Alby Pattison, chair of the Hartlepool Town Deal Board, which brings together representatives of the local public, private and voluntary sectors, added: “So much work has been required by so many people, often in very difficult circumstances during the pandemic, to develop the Hartlepool Town Deal projects.

"So to get to the point where councillors are being asked to submit the final scheme to the Government for approval is a huge milestone.”

Hartlepool was one of 100 towns across England invited by the Government to develop innovative regeneration plans and potentially secure up to £25 million.

The council was informed last summer that it had been awarded the full amount.

Business cases for four other Hartlepool Town Deal projects – a Health and Care Academy, a Civil Engineering Academy, Waterfront Connectivity improvements and the restoration of the town’s the Wesley Chapel – have already been submitted to the Department for Levelling Up, Communities and Housing (DLUCH) and final approval is currently awaited.