Cleveland Fire Brigade officials 'glad' to see demolition of derelict Hartlepool pub after numerous call outs

Proposals were approved earlier this year by Hartlepool Borough Council to demolish the derelict Hourglass in Eaglesfield Road, with the work taking place in May.

The site had previously been hit with numerous deliberate fires since becoming vacant in 2019, leading to councillors calling for urgent action.

At the council’s audit and governance committee, officers acknowledged it took a “long time” to knock down the building, labelling the process “a challenge”.

Tony Hanson, executive director of development, neighbourhoods and regulatory services, said: “I appreciate the fact there is still a bit of work to do there.

“We continue to work with them [the owners] to support them through the planning application process which hopefully will result in that [the debris] being moved and the site developed in the longer term.

“That’s the aim, which again would be good news for the site.”

At the latest meeting of the Safer Hartlepool Partnership, Cleveland Fire Brigade bosses thanked everyone involved in demolishing the site, which they labelled a “magnet for deliberate fire setting”.

Craig Strike, head of prevention and engagement, said: “I’m glad to see it’s down.

“Every time we get one of these calls we have to work on the basis that somebody has gone into that building to set it on fire.

“Then we have to commit firefighters into what we know is an unsafe building, when from experience we know the chances are the perpetrators have left. We always have to treat it as the worst case.”