'Positive things on horizon' says Hartlepool's leader as council holds first in-person meeting since Covid

Watch more of our videos on Shots!
and live on Freeview channel 276

Councillor Shane Moore was chosen by councillors to remain as leader for another year at Hartlepool Borough Council’s annual meeting on Tuesday evening.

He was selected by 23 votes to 13 ahead of Labour’s Cllr Brenda Harrison.

Cllr Moore, who first became leader in 2019, will once again be part of a coalition of Conservative and independent councillors as the leading group on the council.

Councillor Shane Moore, left, continues as Hartlepool Borough Council's leader following a vote of councillors at the first full in-person meeting since the onset of coronavirus.

He said he was “truly honoured” to be chosen as leader once more, and added it was extra special with the meeting taking place in old Hartlepool’s seat of power, the Borough Hall.

The Headland and Harbour representative said: “I’m delighted to have been selected again by my fellow councillors to be the leader and lead Hartlepool Borough Council through the next year.

“We’ve got a busy year ahead of us, lots of positive things on the horizon, we just need to roll our sleeves up and get cracking.

“It’s especially poignant for me tonight being elected as the leader in the Borough Hall, which is the old seat of power for old Hartlepool, so it’s especially nice in that respect.”

Hartlepool Borough Council held its first full meeting since the pandemic at the town's Borough Hall.

Cllr Moore added reopening the economy and supporting businesses recovering from Covid-19 will be one of the first priorities, although there will be numerous positive projects to look forward to.

The Independent Union representative said: “It’s everything we’ve already started, clearly the first priority is making sure we get our economy reopened, we get businesses thriving again, and we do all we can to help local businesses and the local economy.

“Then we progress with our path to build projects, and look forward to the preparations for Tall Ships in 2023.”

He added the coalition of Conservative and independent councillors, which was the leading group on the council for the past two years, has worked well to date, and hopes this will continue.

Councillor Shane Moore remains as Hartlepool Borough Council's leader

The meeting was held at the historic Borough Hall, instead of the council chamber in the Civic Centre, to enable social distancing and was the first in-person full council meeting since the onset of the pandemic.