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Plans have been lodged to demolish a fire-hit former Hartlepool pub and build nine new bungalows in its place. v.1

An application for permission in principle has been submitted to Hartlepool Borough Council planning department for The Hourglass pub site, in Eaglesfield Road.

Proposals from M and A Holding state the former public house is in a “dilapidated state due to previous fires” and it wishes to build nine bungalows for elderly residents in its place.

According to planning documents the pub closed in 2019 and the empty site was hit by fires in September 2021, April 2022 and May 2022, which left the building “not functional as a public house”.

Hartlepool's derelict Hourglass pub could be transformed into bungalows.

A statement from Avalon Town Planning in support of the application said demolishing the pub and building nine bungalows in its place would “improve the appearance of a currently run-down site” and the area as a whole.

It said: “This is an urban site that is currently underused and in need of redevelopment.

“It is not designated as a community asset and its continued use as a public house is not viable.

“Its replacement with elderly bungalows would contribute towards that mix of housing identified as being in need in the borough in the Hartlepool Local Plan.”

Following the fire in September 2021, Manor House Labour councillors Pamela Hargreaves and Ben Clayton called for urgent action to make the site safe to protect residents.

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The proposal is a first stage application to establish whether the site is suitable in principle for the nine properties to be built.

Second stage plans would then have to be applied for with added details.

Bid to build new homes by demolishing derelict and 'unviable' Hartlepool pub