Hartlepool Development Corporation set to be scrapped after less than five years
An organisation set up to spearhead town centre regeneration in Hartlepool is set to be scrapped less than five years after it was created.
Hartlepool Development Corporation (HDC) was created by the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) in 2023 to transform the town by “driving investment and cutting red tape”.
Its responsibilities include masterminding the regeneration of Middleton Grange Shopping Centre as well as deciding the outcome of planning applications in the town centre.
The powers granted to the HDC and its Middlesbrough equivalent, which also faces the axe, are expected to be shared by the likes of the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) and local authorities such as Hartlepool Borough Council.
A final decision is expected to be confirmed on Friday, November 13, following the outcome of a review commissioned in March.
It is believed that the corporations will be dissolved “within a year” and potentially by as early as the end of the current financial year next March.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), TVCA Mayor Ben Houchen said among the reasons for the decision is that stronger powers are likely to be given to mayors in 2027 than development corporations currently have.
These would allow mayors to grant upfront planning permission for specified types of development in defined areas.
Mayor Houchen confirmed that there would be no more money from TVCA going to the development corporations and that they should be able to “stand on their own two feet” until the transition is concluded.
The HDC was set up using £10m of “pump prime funding” from the combined authority.
Mayor Houchen insisted at the time that the HDC would not remove money from Hartlepool Borough Council.
Responding to the latest announcement, council’s leader Councillor Dave Bruce said: “The council supported the creation of the Tees Valley mayor’s development corporation in order to help drive economic growth, investment and regeneration into Hartlepool alongside the work that the council itself is doing.
“This work is ever more important given the opportunities it presents for local residents and businesses and for supporting the council and the borough financially. I am keen to champion the town’s development offer locally, regionally and nationally, and look forward to working with the Tees Valley mayor and the combined authority towards these goals.”