'Well worth preserving' - 12 things you said about Hartlepool's former Shades Hotel as council reveals rescue plans

Readers have been having their say on what a listed building in Hartlepool should become if and when it's renovated.
By Debra Fox
Published 22nd Jan 2019, 08:36 BST
Updated 22nd Jan 2019, 08:45 BST

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The Shades Hotel building in Hartlepool could be repaired as part of regeneration to the Church Street area.The Shades Hotel building in Hartlepool could be repaired as part of regeneration to the Church Street area.
The Shades Hotel building in Hartlepool could be repaired as part of regeneration to the Church Street area.

Hartlepool Borough Council has revealed proposals which would see it spend £60,000 on structural repairs to the derelict Shades Hotel building on the town's Church Street.

The local authority bought the building last year with support from the Tees Valley Combined Authority, with the hope it could become "an anchor" in a major regeneration plan for Church Street as a whole.

The building is Grade II listed.The building is Grade II listed.
The building is Grade II listed.
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If approved, the money will be used to fund "urgent structural repairs" to make the building safe until funding can be secured for a "major renovation".

It is a Grade II-listed property.

Mail readers have been sharing their thoughts on the plans, with many calling for the "beautiful" building to be preserved and brought back into use.

Others argued that there were more valuable uses for the money in these times of austerity.

Here's what you had to say about the issue on the Hartlepool Mail Facebook page:

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Paddy Horsley: "A beautiful building, well worth preserving."

Fred Corbett: "It isn't a matter of whingeing or being negative. It is a matter of £360,000 pounds as a starting figure to refurbish an old pub. If it was a viable money-making concern the original owners would have kept it open. Public money shouldn't be used on something like this when services and amenities are being cut."

Angela Scott: "Want to start thinking of the homeless."

Beryl Hann: "It’s just full of takeaways down there just a waste of money to me."

Philippa Holmes Nuttall: "It needs restoring."

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Read more: Hartlepool Borough Council plans for £60k to be spent on 'urgent repa...

Adam Rollinson: "About time they started preserving historic buildings, when's the Wesley getting fixed?"

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Mark Trotter: "Best beer garden in town that, if done right be a good pub again."

Adrian Paul: "Certainly needs some investment before it gets beyond repair. It may then get leased out and filled with a tenant or even a buyer. Looks a decent-looking property too."

Gemma Wilson Mckie: "Should be built back up and be a nightclub again same as the Wesley nightclub! Bring our night life back were it had people coming from other towns."

Pamela Boagey: "Never get Church Street back how it was, too far gone now."

Jp Wanley: "Needs doing, it's a start."

Darren Robson: "Needed saving."

Related topics:Hartlepool Borough CouncilHartlepool