Shopping parade to be extended on site of former Hartlepool pub

Proposals were submitted to Hartlepool Borough Council planning department earlier this year for an extension to the former Saxon pub site, in Easington Road, Hartlepool.

Plans from applicant Manjinder Jagpal, from Ingleby Barwick Land & Property Developments, stated the new site would be home to a retail unit and provide four part-time jobs at the store.

A report from council senior planning officer Jane Tindall has confirmed the proposals have been given the go-ahead, adding they should benefit the area.

She said: “It is considered that the principle of development in this location is acceptable.

“It is further considered that the proposal would not result in significant adverse impacts on the amenity or privacy of neighbouring land users or adverse visual impacts.”

A planning statement, previously prepared on behalf of the applicant, outlined how they believe the extension proposals are a “sustainable development” which will benefit the area.

It said: “It is an appropriate form of development in this predominantly residential area.

“The proposal will provide new shopping and services for the benefit of local residents and ensure this highly visible building on a gateway entrance to the town remains in productive economic use.”

The document also notes the proposal to invest in the building represents a “considerable improvement” to the visual amenity of the site and particularly the approach to Hartlepool along the “important transport corridor”.

The shop is to be open from 7am until 11pm, seven days a week, according to the plans.

The plans are a resubmission of a previous application for similar works which were passed in December 2016.

That approval lapsed, however, after work failed to take place.

The shopping parade already houses a convenience store, a dental practice and a chip shop, which the new retail unit will be attached to.

The proposal includes reducing car parking spaces at the site from 25 to 24 due to the extension being built, however planning documents argue this is “more than sufficient”.

Proposals were also approved by the council planning committee in August 2020 to convert a vacant unit at the site, formerly home to a florist, into a bar, which would offer food.