Town bosses promise 'transformational effect' from Middleton Grange redevelopment plans - but opposition warn against 'magic wand' expectations

Town bosses have approved proposals for the fifth and final Hartlepool Town Deal project – the reimagining of Middleton Grange Shopping Centre – to be sent to the Government for a final green light on the project.

Hartlepool Borough Council’s Finance and Policy Committee has agreed to send the business case for the scheme to the Department for Levelling Up, Communities and Housing (DLUCH) in the hope of unlocking £13.9 million towards the cost of the redevelopment.

Work will include a new “gateway” entrance to the shopping centre from Stockton Road being created and improved access from all parts of the town centre.

It would also see the restoration of the Grade II Listed former Binns building to create a range of flexible spaces and a “multifunctional centre”, incorporating a greater focus on leisure and hospitality industries.

Speaking after Monday’s (August 22) meeting of the panel, Shane Moore, leader of the council and chairman of the finance and policy committee, said: “It is going to have a really transformational effect on the town centre as a whole, but certainly on Middleton Grange.

“We want to make sure that this town centre, our town centre, is one that will be vibrant moving forward and one that isn’t just centred on retail.

“We need to diversify the offer that we have to bring people in and to encourage people to dwell more and to spend more time and more money. That is exactly what we hope those plans will do.”

Interventions under the preferred option for the site include the council acquiring the North East wing of Middleton Grange Shopping Centre and former Binns Building for redevelopment.

Reports add the work should “increase footfall across the shopping centre by 15-30%”, as well as attracting more investment and jobs.

Denise McGuckin, council managing director said: “If we don’t do anything we’re going to continue to get what we’ve always got and the town centre will go into further decline.

“There are significant positive benefits with this project and it will help enhance sections of the town.”

At the meeting the proposals were backed by all political parties, although Cllr Jonathan Brash, deputy leader of the Labour group and the party’s parliamentary candidate for the next general election, noted there would be risks with the plans.

He said: “Moving from a retail offer to a leisure offer is the only hope I think, long term.

“There is a big ‘if’ in this investment, in getting that change and shift in use and it being signed up to and having people with money in their pockets to sustain it.

“It’s not going to be immediate like a magic wand, it’s going to be tough, but we are trying.”

The meeting also heard shopping centre bosses are themselves looking at further investment for the remainder of the site.

Last year it was revealed Hartlepool’s application for £25 million from the Government’s £3.6 billion Towns Deal fund had been approved, with five schemes selected to benefit.

Business cases for four other Hartlepool Town Deal projects have already been submitted, with final approval pending.