Member Article

Have your say on regeneration blueprint

HARTLEPOOL businesses and residents are being urged to have their say on a radical new regeneration blueprint which will shape the future of key areas of the town.

Following a report to Hartlepool Council’s Regeneration Services Committee, councillors have given the green light to a consultation exercise on a range of exciting proposals to develop the town over the next few years.

Hartlepool Council is behind the ambitious Regeneration Masterplan which forms part of the Hartlepool Vision to revitalise the centre of Hartlepool, spark the town’s wider regeneration and lay the foundations for its future prosperity.

GVA Grimely, the UK’s largest independent commercial property firm, are working alongside the Council to help deliver the Masterplan which outlines what can be achieved on specific sites within the Marina, Hartlepool waterfront and the wider town centre.

Damien Wilson, the Council’s Assistant Director (Regeneration), said: “The Masterplan will address a number of strategic aims including making Hartlepool a major leisure and visitor destination, improving shoppng in the town and regenerating Jacksons Landing, Church Street and Trincomalee wharf through the development of bold but deliverable proposals.

“It is important that development opportunities are included within a structured framework to ensure that the Masterplan has a joined up approach.”

Residents of Hartlepool have already given their overwhelming backing to the Masterplan following an earlier consultation process when 94% agreed that the Council is on the right track with what it is trying to achieve.

The Masterplan lists a number of priority projects which it suggests the Council should pursue, including:

• Working with the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) to develop a tourist attraction of national and international significance in the heart of the Marina. This could include incorporating the former Jacksons Landing building as part of any future development.
• Major improvements to the Middleton Grange Shopping Centre including improved frontages onto Victory Square and relocating the Mill House Leisure Centre alongside the shopping centre.
• Improved connectivity, including major improvements to Church Street, to link the shopping centre, Church Street and the Marina.
• The creation of a “skills quarter” in the Church Street area - including the building of a new Hartlepool College of Art and Design - to help attract students from far and wide.

Councillor Robbie Payne, Chair of the Regeneration Services Committee, said: “Despite the huge financial constraints being placed on the Council by the Government, we remain extremely optimistic about the town’s future and have a clear vision for what we want to achieve.

“I think the proposals set out in the Regeneration Masterplan are well thought out, realisitic and have the potential to significantly improve our town.

“However, what is more important is what local people think and we now want to hear from residents and the business community to let us know whether they think we have got this right.”

Consultation on the Masterplan runs from Monday January 19 to Thursday February 12 and there is a number of ways in which people can get involved.

A drop-in session will be held at Hartlepool College of Further Education in Stockton Street on Tuesday January 20 between 1pm and 2pm and there is an online questionnaire at www.hartlepool.gov.uk/masterplanconsultation

People can also visit Hartlepool Civic Centre and the town’s Central Library in York Road where there will be information and questionnaires.

Councillor Christopher Akers-Belcher, the Leader of Hartlepool Council, added: “We know that Hartlepool has lots of assets but there is also so much more potential to make the town a better place to live, work and visit.

“The Masterplan demonstrates just how bold and ambitious the Council is but it is also achievable. It’s so important to have a clear vision and a co-ordinated plan in place if the town is to move forward and this is what the Hartlepool Vision and Regeneration Masterplan are all about.”

For further information contact Rob Smith at Hartlepool Council on (01429) 523531 or email rob.smith@hartlepool.gov.uk

After comments from the consultation have been taken on board, the Masterplan is expected to be finalised in March 2015.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Steve Hilton .