Freedom of Information request reveals more than £445,000 spent by Hartlepool Borough Council on derelict Shades building

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request made by town resident Peter Joyce to Hartlepool Borough Council has shown the total spent on the run-down former Shades building, in Church Street, has been £445,802 to date.

The council says the building, which it bought in 2018, is part of plans to develop a “production village” in the area supporting TV and screen industries and is linked to wider town regeneration projects.

Mr Joyce, 72, of Rossmere, described it as a “vanity project” by council bosses and “a waste of precious resources”.

He said: "I made the freedom of information request because I’m interested in how money is spent.

“I can not believe the amount of wasted money on a derelict building bought by Hartlepool Borough Council.

"It’s incredible. For that sort of cost I thought it would be nearly finished and fully refurbished.”

The expected completion date for Shades is not yet known, nor its final market value.

Mr Joyce said he was not against all the council’s efforts to improve the town, praising the renovation of the former Post Office, in Whitby Street, into The BIS business centre, and the Elephant Rock events space on the Headland.

But he questioned the level of spending in the Church Street area, adding: “There’s plenty of other places around the town that deserve a share of what’s going on.”

The council said the former Shades building is part of the creation of a production village in the Lynn Street/Whitby Street area and a £16.5m government levelling up funding bid.

A spokesman said: “The investment in the building, once we purchased it in July 2018, was essential for several reasons.

"It was in an extremely poor condition and was at risk of becoming a potential public safety issue, its derelict appearance had a detrimental effect on the surrounding area and was undermining investor confidence, and, as a Grade II-Listed Building, it was at risk.

“The investment – the majority of which came from the Government’s Town Deal Accelerated Funding – covered works to halt the structural decline of the building, plus works to reduce the deterioration of the building fabric, including making the property weathertight, with all works undertaken in compliance with its designation as a Grade II-Listed Building.

“Without this investment to secure the fabric of the building, the wider Levelling Up Fund bid might not have been successful.”

The council added the ongoing regeneration of Lynn Street and Whitby Street is just part of its wider plans to revitalise Hartlepool using Government funding at a number of key sites around the town.

The spokesman added: “These include the new multi-million pound leisure centre Highlight, plus the £25m Hartlepool Town Deal, which will see connectivity improvements between The Waterfront, the town centre and Seaton Carew, the reimagining of Middleton Grange Shopping Centre, the creation of health and social care and civil engineering skills academies and the former Wesley Chapel brought back into use as a hotel.

"All of these projects will play an integral part in regenerating Hartlepool, underpinning its future economic growth and prosperity and making it an attractive place to live, work and invest.”