New plans unveiled to transform prominent Hartlepool building

Proposals were previously submitted to Hartlepool Borough Council’s planning department to convert 133 Raby Road, at the junction with both Hart Lane and Middleton Road, in Hartlepool, into a dozen flats and ground floor shop.

The building, formerly home to Northern Textiles, has been empty for a number of years and was last year damaged when a car careered into it.

With windows boarded up, nearby residents have labelled it an eyesore and called for work to be carried out to improve its appearance.

The initial plans from Flat Cap Developments were approved for the work in 2019.

The updated plans from Countrywide Property aim to “improve the layouts” of the proposed flats and increase the size of the smaller studios originally outlined.

A design statement said: “Whilst a couple of the larger studios are slightly smaller, the four smallest flats have been improved, providing a more consistent area to each studio flat.

“This simplifies the structural arrangement but also leads to improvements in the internal planning of the studio flats.”

As well as space for a new retail store, the ground floor of the property is proposed to host two of the studio flats, along with storage space for seven bikes.

There will then be five flats on each of the first and second floors of the building.

A decision is expected to be made on the latest proposals by the council planning department in April.