Why Hartlepool Borough Council's plan to tackle Odeon building are 'hugely complex'

The condition and future of the Raby Road building was raised at the latest meeting as part of a Hartlepool Borough Council scrutiny investigation into tackling empty buildings in the town.

Local authority officers confirmed the former Odeon cinema is on their register of problematic sites, which a previous meeting heard consisted of 27 properties ranked by priority via a scoring matrix.

In the Hartlepool Development Corporation’s (HDC) masterplan, approved by the new body earlier this year, one of the key projects for the Raby Road area included developing a new “community park” on the site.

The 1930s Grade II Listed building closed as a cinema in 1981 and after subsequent uses, including as a night club, it has remained unused since around the turn of the century.

Speaking at the latest meeting of the council’s audit and governance committee, Councillor Gary Allen said the building, located in the Victoria ward which he represents, has been “left to look ugly” and “stood empty for quite a long time”.

Tony Hanson, council executive director of development, neighbourhoods and regulatory services, said the property’s listed building status makes it more difficult for them to take action against the owners and serve legal notices.

He said: “We can’t tell them to aesthetically improve their building, we can only get them to either address defects that exist with a notice, or potentially demolish.

“We couldn’t serve that notice on them because we aren’t allowed to demolish it without the permission of getting the listed building consent removed, so it’s a hugely complex process for a listed building.

“We monitor it, fortunately it’s near to the Civic and the police so we can keep an eye on it. There is little we can do other than the fact we just keep on to it, and it is on the list.”

He added it was his view it “can only help” that it is located in the HDC area.

The potential creation of a community park on the site is listed as a “medium” term project, which is for between three and five years, according to the HDC’s masterplan.

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