Work 'coming along great' on £3.8million regeneration of Hartlepool's historic Wesley Chapel

Work is "coming along great" on the £3.8million regeneration of Hartlepool's historic Wesley Chapel ahead of key next steps beginning in the new year.

Hartlepool Borough Council bosses noted the "fantastic" progress on the project to transform the grade II listed derelict building into a boutique hotel comes despite the large fire at the site in November last year. It was later confirmed the main building remained structurally sound and largely unscathed, with the blaze occurring in the annexe of the property.

The latest meeting of the council's economic growth and regeneration committee heard scaffolding is now starting to be taken down, with repairs to the windows and external work complete. Local authority bosses added the "internal fit out" will begin in January 2025 ahead of an expected completion date for the scheme of late summer 2025.

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Tony Hanson, council executive director of development, neighbourhoods and regulatory services, said the project is "coming along great" and the 36 rooms being provided by the boutique hotel are "desperately needed" in the town.

Speaking at the meeting, he added: "We've now got, or we will have the Wesley Chapel as a hotel, and we've also got the Grand Hotel back into use, and in all honesty we probably still need more accommodation. But obviously the more we do, the more people will come and hopefully we'll get hotel suppliers coming as well."

The meeting heard the £1.4million secured by the council through its Town Deal bid for the project has enabled "the historical assets of the building to be kept and brought back into use" and the conversion "would not be able to" happen without the funding.

The other £2.4million towards the scheme is being invested by developer Jomast.

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