Hundreds sign petition against new shops and apartments in Hartlepool's King Oswy Drive

Hartlepool Borough Council’s planning committee is to make a decision next week on proposals for the development at the end of the row of shops off the town’s King Oswy Drive.

Applicant GCS Developments NE is looking to provide two additional retail units on the land, which is currently used for car parking, and can be accessed off Nicholson Way.

The proposals also feature two apartments above the units, each offering two bedrooms, with three parking spaces between them.

But a 253-name petition on behalf of the existing shops in the King Oswy Drive has been received by the council.

Concerns include the removal of already “insufficient” parking spaces exacerbating existing issues and causing a “further reduction” in the number of people visiting the shops.

Worries were also raised around potential congestion and problems for delivery wagons.

A report from council planning officers is recommending the proposals are refused by councillors on Wednesday, December 14.

It said: “The proposed development by virtue of its siting, scale and design would result in an unsympathetic design to the detriment of the visual amenity of the application site and the surrounding street scene.

“The proposal would result in the loss of car parking spaces which serve the existing retail units and the increased demand for parking through the development itself which would result in an unacceptable impact.”

A design and access statement submitted on behalf of the applicant states the development will “respond positively to the site and its local setting” and can be accessed “safely and conveniently”.