The £1.5 million spending plans to make Hartlepool safer and look smarter

A host of improvements are to be carried out across Hartlepool as part of £1.5 million plans to invest in regeneration, safety and the wellbeing.
Hartlepool Civic CentreHartlepool Civic Centre
Hartlepool Civic Centre

Hartlepool Borough Council has approved schemes put forward by councillors for places in need of a boost.

It includes work on shopping areas, parks, Stranton Cemetery, and areas of the Headland.

Councillor Stephen Akers-Belcher.Councillor Stephen Akers-Belcher.
Councillor Stephen Akers-Belcher.
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Councillor Stephen Akers-Belcher, chairman of its Neighbourhood Services Committee, said: “We listen closely to what residents tell us about the issues which matter to them and in response this investment programme will deliver improvements to neighbourhoods across Hartlepool.

“This investment is in addition to nearly £10 million of revenue funding we have provided over the period 2013/14 to 2018/19 to maintain our highways and footpaths - an area of spending we have tried to protect, despite the impact of the significant cuts in Government funding over this period and the increased budget pressures we have faced. 
“In addition to this, over the same period, we have invested just over £21 million of capital funding in our highways and footpaths infrastructure, including street lighting replacements.

“Furthermore, at its meeting today, the council’s Finance and Policy Committee will consider ways in which to use a loan repayment saving, which could lead to a further £1.6 million being invested in Hartlepool’s roads and pavements.”

Short-term schemes backed by the Neighbourhood Investment Programme include:

The play area on Coronation Drive is to be given a boost with new play equipment under the plans by Hartlepool Borough Council.The play area on Coronation Drive is to be given a boost with new play equipment under the plans by Hartlepool Borough Council.
The play area on Coronation Drive is to be given a boost with new play equipment under the plans by Hartlepool Borough Council.
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The shopping parades in King Oswy Drive, where the outside of the stores will get a revamp with input from shopkeepers, with £290,000 set aside;

Stranton Cemetery, where a funeral vehicle route will be progressed, a barrier with fob system installed at its Tanfield Road entrance and improvements to the road leading to the parking on the Brierton Lane entrance at a cost of £45,000 in total;

A new playspace on Coronation Drive, where two new areas will join the existing park, attracting more families to the seafront and help people get active, all at a cost if £70,000. Satellite play areas will also be set up to create a promenade route, with the work also backing the Seaton Carew Masterplan;

Paving works worth £105,000 around the BIS in Whitby Street, where work is under way by the council in partnership with Cleveland College of Art and Design and Gus Robinson Developments to set up a creative industries centre in the former Post Office.

A number of medium-term schemes have also been backed.

These are:

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Work worth £77,000 to prevent the deterioration of previous regeneration schemes on the Headland, including cleaning, repairs and planting in the Town Square, work on the railings in Union Street and a permanent footpath in Redheugh Gardens to give better access to the memorial;

Barrier works between the Tesco Roundabout and Middleton Road at a cost of £400,000;

Revamps for roundabouts on the route into the town and coast to create a “sense of arrival”, with the suggestion the National Museum of the Royal Navy will provide artefacts to create features as part of the £200,000 programme.

A further £313,000 is yet to be allocated on top of the £1.5 million pot already accounted for through the programme.

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As previously reported, the council has been awarded £549,810 to help redevelop Rossmere Park thanks to cash from Mondegreen EB Ltd – a not-for-profit company which specialises in managing community projects funded through the Landfill Communities Fund.

The money will fund a car park, a covered events space, pond work and the refurbishment of play areas.