Second phase of £550,000 Hartlepool park revamp to start in September

Hartlepool Borough Council is leading the £550,000 renovation after securing funding from Mondegreen Environmental Body, a regional grant-giving organisation which distributes money from landfill tax.

In an update on the project to the council’s South and Central Neighbourhood Forum, officers said the first phase of the works including a new play area, car park and events area, is now complete.

Sarah Scarr, the council’s Heritage and Countryside Manager, said: “We are looking to start phase two of the works around September.

“That will be around the lake area. We have put together some ideas that we went out to tender on and we are developing those ideas further.

“That’s things like improving access to the water, putting in platforms, looking at treatments around the edge of the lake and the planting and looking at enhancements around that area.

“Hopefully, by the end of the year we will have invested that money into the park.”

A new pedestrian access into the park from Balmoral Way has also been created as part of the first phase of the project.

Ms Scarr added some new CCTV cameras will be going in the park.

It follows vandalism to the park including a popular new Sutu interactive ball wall, installed as part of the project, which was damaged by someone throwing stones and bricks at it.

The CCTV is part of a £250,000 investment in security before the end of the year at Hartlepool’s four parks including at Ward Jackson, Seaton and Burn Valley.

“Hopefully it will solve some of those anti social behaviour problems,” said Ms Scarr.

Resident Peter Joyce asked if there was to be any investment in safety measures around the park citing a shortage of barriers around Rossmere Park.

Ms Scarr said she would put it to the council’s highways department.

Burn Valley resident Evelyn Leck asked a lack of investment in the Burn Valley.