Next steps approved for 47 affordable rented homes in Hartlepool town centre

The Grade-II listed Market Hotel site is among the locations listed for housing development, after heritage chiefs concluded its state of disrepair meant the building's historic significance had been diminished.

The plans will see 47 affordable rented housing units, which will be owned and managed by Hartlepool Borough Council, built across three sites in the town centre area.

The sites are on land in Lynn Street, which is currently home to a council depot, land in Whitby Street, currently home to the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Centre, and the site of the derelict Market Hotel.

At the latest meeting of all councillors, Hartlepool Borough Council approved prudential borrowing of up to £4.744million to carry out the scheme.

Hartlepool Borough Council plans for housing sites around Lynn Street.

Overall 43% of the scheme will be funded from grant funding and 57% from prudential borrowing.

Cllr Shane Moore, Hartlepool Borough Council leader, said the development means they can ‘add much needed new housing stock into the council’s housing revenue account’.

As part of the development a bid will go to Homes England for affordable homes funding, while it is also hoped funding will come from an application as part of the national Brownfield Housing Fund.

Reports ahead of the meeting stated the scheme will help ‘deliver regeneration aims, create 250 jobs and bring vacant and derelict sites back into productive use’.

The council depot off Lynn Street is another proposed site for affordable housing

Speaking at full council, Cllr Amy Prince asked if the houses will have gardens, after highlighting their importance during the Covid-19 pandemic, and officers confirmed they will.

The proposal went before all councillors after being unanimously backed by the finance and policy committee at the start of last week.

Speaking at that meeting, Cllr Moore had said it was ‘really good’ to see the proposal come forward, adding it was ‘always on their wishlist’.

He said: “I’m pleased to say should this one go forward, that brings the total number of new housing units that we’d have brought forward as a council since March 2019 to 97 properties.

“That’s going a really big way towards increasing the stock that the council is able to offer to local residents.”

The development would feature seven units at the site of the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Centre, four units at the Market Hotel site, and 36 at the depot site.

Out of the 47 properties, 15 would be two bedroom terraced/semi-detached houses, seven would be two-bedroom bungalows and 25 would be three-bedroom town houses.

The project is currently under development and the planning submission is expected in the coming weeks, with a decision hoped for by May 2021.

If approved, the aim would be to complete the delivery of 47 new ‘affordable and energy efficient homes’ for rent by 31st May 2023 at the latest.

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