I wrote about the fledgling Hartlepool Development Corporation (HDC) back in May 2024. I’ve just revisited the town to see how things are progressing.
The wanderer returns
You can read about my May 2024 visit here. Just a recap: The go-ahead for the HDC was announced by Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove and Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen in January 2023. A development corporation was announced for nearby Middlesbrough the same day. Houchen announced that the corporations ‘will attempt to cut red tape and speed up development’. More on this later. Gove signed the development corporations into law a couple of weeks later. The Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA), who would be involved in administering both corporations, looked forward to ‘cutting red tape’. Houchen said that red tape would be ‘slashed’. Okay, we get it.
Setting boundaries
The HDC would consist of two separate zones. First of all, an area encompassing the town centre, and some undeveloped land at Hartlepool Marina. The second zone would consist of Oakesway Industrial Estate, just north of the town centre. A third zone was added a few weeks after the 6 February 2023 announcement. This zone is Queens Meadow Business Park. Queens Meadow is some way out of the town, located next to the A689 towards Greatham village.
My tour
I toured all three zones on 5 August 2025 to find out what has been achieved to date. I started at the town centre, which I’ll call Zone 1.
Zone 1: Town Centre and Marina
You can see a map of the zone below:
The town centre can be seen at the bottom left. Towards the east, the boundary becomes somewhat ragged. It’s been drawn up to include undeveloped plots of land at Hartlepool Marina. To the north, there’s a narrow extension that includes land between the A179 road and Lancaster Road. The reason for including this portion of land is unknown.
Town centre
The key property in the town centre is Middleton Grange Shopping Centre. The centre was completed in 1968, in a brutalist architectural style, typical of its era. The HDC decided to buy the lease on the centre in December 2023. The reasons for this investment are questionable, because town-based shopping centres are facing a slow decline. They’re facing the twin onslaught of out-of-town shopping parks and online purchasing.
The curse of the commentator
Ben Houchen heralded the reinvigoration of the town centre. But the opposite has happened.The announcement coincided with the closure of one of the centre’s key retailers, Wilko. Their store is still vacant, as can be seen below.
Who’s minding the store?
The store closures have continued, with several announced recently. River Island in June, followed by Holland & Barrett and Clinton Cards in August. On the day of my visit, I counted 27 vacant shops out of a total of 104. The three shops named above haven’t closed yet.
Concrete Jungle
In September 2024, the centre’s indoor market had to close due to structural issues. The roof contains reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). The market remains closed, with no sign of any repairs having commenced.
Wesley Chapel
On the other side of Victoria Road from Middleton Grange, the Wesley Chapel is being converted into a boutique hotel. The work commenced in March 2023, and was scheduled to take 18 months. However, construction deadlines always slip, and the latest target date is Spring 2026. The work is being completed by Jomast Developments Limited, who’ve received a £1.4mn subsidy from the Town Deal Fund for this job.
Business connections
Jomast is a well-connected company. Tony Parkinson, until recently its head of business development, has just been made chairman of the Middlesbrough Development Corporation. Here’s the latest photo of the Wesley:
Where’s the fire?
Continuing past the Wesley Chapel along Raby Road, I came to the site of the former Engineer’s Club. This went on fire on 30 April 2024, which put the building beyond repair. Demolition commenced in March 2025. This work is ongoing, possibly due to the presence of asbestos, if the on-site skip anything to go by. This land will be available to the HDC for housing when the site has been cleared.
At your leisure
Further along Raby Road, the Mill Hill Leisure Centre can be found. But its days are numbered. It’s about to be replaced by a newer version at Hartlepool Marina. The cleared site will be passed on to the HDC for housing development.
What, another one?
The Odeon Cinema was located directly opposite the leisure centre. Shortly after the creation of the HDC, in May 2023, plans were announced to buy and demolish the cinema to free up more development land. Nothing much happened after this, which was fortunate as the building was a minor Art Deco masterpiece, with a Grade II listing.
Problem solved
However, the development log-jam was solved in October 2024 when this building also went on fire. The arsonists did a thorough job. Just like the Engineer’s Club down the road, it was damaged beyond repair. It was demolished within two weeks of the fire. The development that was planned back in May 2023 can now go ahead, but nothing has happened so far.
Church Street and Lynn Street
Church Street heads east from the town centre. This was once the business hub of West Hartlepool, but it’s like a ghost town now. The Teesside Development Corporation (TDC) refurbished many of the buildings here, and improved the public realm. But, more than 30 years on, footfall is slight. Most of the premises are unoccupied. My visit was at noon, so perhaps some of the restaurants here only open in the evening. However, they face fierce competition from the 20 or so eateries at nearby Hartlepool Marina.
- Houses of Multiple Occupation
Things have deteriorated so much at Church Street that developers have started to apply to convert shops into Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs). This is being opposed by the local MP, Jonathan Brash, and several councillors. Brash has requested that the HDC’s planning powers revert back to the local authority. There are plenty of empty premises here, but HMOs won’t provide a solution.
Lynn Street
Lynn Street branches off Church Street about halfway down. Lynn Street was the town’s main shopping thoroughfare before the Middleton Grange Shopping Centre opened. There aren’t any shops now, but it is home to Northern Studios, part of the Northern School of Art. Planning permission is being sought to expand the film and TV production village here.
Hooray for Hollywood
Public funding of £15mn is being made available via the TVCA. Will the village make Hartlepool a hot-bed of world class production? Probably not, but it’s a welcome start.
Hartlepool Marina
There are two developments of note at the marina. As noted earlier, Mill Hill Leisure Centre will be replaced by a new one, to be known as Hartlepool Highlight. It’s on the site of the former Jackson’s Landing shopping outlet. Note, however, that this isn’t a HDC project. It’s being funded by Hartlepool Borough Council, the TVCA and Sport England. Construction commenced in September 2023 and is scheduled to be completed in Spring 2026.
Unfinished business
Across the other side of the dock from Hartlepool Highlight, work has commenced on some housing within the HDC zone. This is on land previously managed by theTDC. The TDC was wound up in 1998 with debts of £40mn, and several unfinished projects, notably at Hartlepool Marina. In 2003, planning permission was granted for 900 houses, but only 200 were built.
Nice work, if you can get it
Jomast, who is still working on Wesley Chapel, has bagged another job. It’s being paid a subsidy of £15mn from the Brownfield Housing Fund, via the TVCA, to build a further 385 homes. I visited Fleet Avenue, where construction has commenced.
Zone 2: Oakesway Industrial Estate
The second HDC zone is a peculiar one. Oakesway Industrial Estate, about a mile north of the town centre, was built in the 1950s. The estate has never fulfilled its potential. Some plots have never been occupied, and some have been abandoned. However, there are a handful of thriving businesses here. A map of the zone is shown below. The green line is the A179 Powlett Road.
Success stories
So, first of all some success stories. TMD Friction is a world-class supplier of after-market car parts. Another company, Saica Pack, produces packaging. Saica is undergoing expansion. They’re currently building a £10mn extension to the factory. Here’s a photo of it:
Dereliction
But Saica’s expansion is the exception that proves the rule. Most of Oakesway consists of empty fields, including signs of recently vacated premises.
Site entrance
The estate is managed by Homes England, formerly known as the Homes & Communities Agency. The sign below confirms that there’s land available at Oakesway Industrial Estate. That’s an understatement.
Housing shortage
In 2018, Homes England wanted to build 189 houses here, which would have taken a fraction of the vacant land. Ben Houchen blocked this, citing a potential threat to jobs at TMD Friction. A highly exaggerated threat, no doubt, but Houchen got the headline he wanted: “Tees Valley Mayor steps in to protect Hartlepool jobs.”
Zone 3: Queens Meadow Business Park
The third HDC zone, Queens Meadow, is way over on the other side of town from Oakesway. A map of the zone is shown below. The green line is the A689.
Don’t fence me in
Queens Meadow is the largest of the three zones, running to 150 acres. But, similarly to Oakesway, most of this former steelworks land is unused. In the photo below, the last remaining steel mill can be seen in the distance. This marks the southern boundary of Queens Meadow.
Hellens
The owner of the park, Hellens Group, claims that over 100 businesses are based here. I didn’t count anywhere near that many, although the Innovation Centre may be home to a lot of small firms.
Housing plan?
In June 2025 Hellens Group applied to build 200 homes here. Ben Houchen took credit for nixing a similar project at Oakesway, so it will be interesting to see how the HDC, as planning authority, approaches the scheme at Queens Meadow.
So what is the Hartlepool Development Corporation for?
It’s difficult to ascertain an actual purpose for the HDC. The selection of land for the three zones seems arbitrary and random. And, far from reducing red tape, the HDC has just added another layer of bureaucracy. Most of the development that is taking place is publicly funded. This cash could easily have been funnelled via the local authority.
Governance
In June 2025, Ben Houchen took the advice of the MHCLG, and relinquished his chairmanship of the three development corporations in the Tees Valley, including Hartlepool. However, Houchen ensured that his own nominees took his place. The new chair of the HDC is Mark Robinson, who previously chaired the UK’s High Street Task Force. Mark will do well to arrest the retail slide in the town centre. However, he’s less experienced in managing industrial estates. And these are, for some reason, a major part of his portfolio.
Thanks to James Waterson for providing additional research for this article
