Calls for improvements to Wingfield Castle as part of £40m investment plans for Hartlepool

Councillors from both the Brexit Party and the Labour Party called for improvements to the Wingfield Castle, currently located at Jackson Dock.

The paddle steamer was built by William Gray and Company in Hartlepool and launched in 1934.

The calls came as Hartlepool Borough Council Finance and Policy Committee laid out capital investment plans for the town for future years.

Finance chiefs estimated just under £41million is to be available as part of the capital investment pot going forward, made up from a combination of prudential borrowing and dedicated grants from the Tees Valley Combined Authority.

Projects highlighted as potential uses of the money include a replacement for Mill House, other leisure facilities, the Waterfront site, and Wingfield Castle.

Coun Dave Hunter, Labour Party representative, said it should not even be up for debate whether improvements are carried out to the Wingfield Castle.

He said: “The Wingfield Castle is part of our cultural heritage, it should not even be up for debate.

“It has been left for years to rot, and it is still being left to rot.

“She is the last of two great ships that are left, it is the last cultural link that we have to where this town really began.

“It cannot and should not morally be put at risk. We cannot let that ship go under any circumstances.”

Council leader Coun Shane Moore, of the Brexit Party, said the ship has been left for years without work and the council is now offering a method of providing funding for renovations.

He said: “The point is, it is at risk, and that’s why we need to identify money to be able to save her, because unless we identify the money, how are we going to save her?

“I would argue it should have been looked at for years, and for years it has been ignored. We’ve identified the money to ensure the previous wrongs are righted.

“It is incredibly important we put the money in place to save her going forward.”

Coun Moore added the overall investment plans will ‘help the town move forward’ and provide income for years to come.

He said: “These proposals, they will assist this council in generating more income.

“They will take away the reliance on reserves and council tax because we will be able to invest to generate and save more money, which ultimately we need to do because only relying on council tax and reserves is unsustainable.”

Further details and plans for the capital funding will go to individual council committees for discussion.