Hartlepool's Hillcarter Hotel set to become student accommodation under new plans

Proposals have been submitted to Hartlepool Borough Council planning department to convert the Hillcarter Hotel in Church Street into student accommodation for students at The Northern School of Art.

The Hillcarter has been closed for just over a year after apparent legal notices were posted on the building in June 2020.

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The plans, submitted by Hillcarter Developments Ltd, state they want to convert the first through to the fourth floor of the site into a mixture of studio apartments and clusters of bedrooms with access to kitchen and dining areas.

In total the site would offer 13 self-contained studios and 34 bedrooms, which would share kitchen and dining area facilities at a rate of five to seven students per area.

Under the plans the basement and ground floor of the hotel are to remain as licensed premises, having previously operated as a nightclub and bar respectively, although both are no longer trading.

A design and access statement, prepared by GAP design on behalf of the applicant, states the proposals would provide a boost to the area.

It said: “The proposal will bring back into use a prominent landmark building with little change to external appearance.

“The use of the building will essentially remain the same and will provide licensed premises to basement & ground floor and student accommodation to all remaining floors, thus bringing back into use a now empty building to help develop a thriving creative quarter based around The Northern School of Art’s campus.

“The centrally located site is accessible to numerous facilities and is therefore considered to be a sustainable location for residential development.”

As part of the plans a ground floor reception area would also feature an office to handle day to day aspects of running and letting rooms, and to advertise any accommodation.

The plans state discussions are also underway with council chiefs to be able to offer a number of parking permits for use in the Dover Street Car Park at the rear of the building.

Discussions include the permits being made available at a price of £350 for the year, with an estimated seventeen spaces available.

The Hillcarter began life as a department store in the late 1800s and became a hotel in 1997, boasting a large rooftop restaurant with panoramic views around the whole area.

A decision is expected to be made on the plans later this month.

A for sale sign has also recently gone up on The Hillcarter Hotel in Church Street and it is being marketed online by commercial property consultancy Sanderson Weatherall.

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