Church Street

[jeffh]

The problem with Church Street is that it no longer serves the purpose it was originally used for.  Before the town centre was moved to the west side of Stockton Road it was the connection between Tower Street, Whitby Street, Burbank Street and Mulgrave Street all on it's south side with the Railway Station and Bus Station to the north.  This provided a busy and thriving area but when the shopping centre was moved the heart was ripped out and now the council wonder why it can't be put back to it's former glory - the only way that could be done would be to treat it something like Beamish with false establishments attracting tourists but not for an functional purpose.

In addition, when the new Art College opens,  the footfall in the area is possibly about to change.  If the students choose to use Church Street as access to the town centre etc. then the requirements will change again.

If you look at what we have now - a Transport Interchange at one end, which only has Scarlet Band, National Express and Taxis using it, a Railway Station with an hourly service to Newcastle, an hourly service to Middlesbrough plus 5 Grand Central Services each way but more importantly there are no scheduled bus services running along it, with the majority of the services running along York Road where the shopping centre was moved to - ever wonder why Stagecoach didn't move into the Transport Hub?

For some reason our council seem hell bent on developing the area without any real idea for its purpose, then have the cheek to come to the public for ideas - guess if it all goes belly up (again) they can then blame the public - after all we were consulted.

[fred c]

It isn't just Church St the needs work, the area as a whole needs to be considered, walk along Church St & look down Lynn St & Whitby St, abandoned or rundown properties, the CAD will be an improvement, but the main facade will be best seen from Mainsforth Tce.... it's a bit lke putting lipstick on a pig.

The traffic flow into & out of the town has changed & Church St has become a busy road during peak times, that coupled with the station access & egress means it wll be difficlt to develop it as a single project.

For me they should level most of the general Church St, Lynn St, Whitby St triangle & develp it as a student quarter, with accomodation & the usual student facilities, in effect a CAD  Campus.

[craig finton]

This looks like the Wilkies are about to get a grant to do up Shades....crazy world!

[The Great Dictator]

The north side of Church St accommodates many drug addicts so why look at throwing money at the area with so many social problems.

[jeffh]

The north side of Church St accommodates many drug addicts so why look at throwing money at the area with so many social problems.

That's the problem - the public are being asked to put forward ideas based on it's current social status, so unless you get to the root cause of some of the problems that exist in the area, the area will struggle to get to the aspiration of council members.  All the public can do is make suggestions around the fabric of the area but not some of the problems that exist within.
I find it quite intimidating and depressing to walk along Church Street, whether it's day or night, but maybe with the advent of the new Art College things may become more vibrant.

[testing times]

this isn't going to end well because there is no strategy. The CoA decided to rebuild and CAB jumped on it and heralded it as the start of some masterplan. There is no plan.

[Hartlepudlion]

Druggies and students. Not a desirable mix!

[Hubris]

FredC, you are a true son of Hartlepool. You have a passion for our town that is admirable and inspiring. Keep up the good work and "nil illegitemi carborundum"

When I see your "FredC tag" on the post I know it will be better and more useful reading than those from Breslaw, mki, et al.
Cheers, and keep poking where it counts in 2017

[akarjl]

I know it will be better and more useful reading than those from Breslaw, mki, et al.

Just spat my coffee over the dog again  grouping Breslaw and MK1 together hahahaha you may as well have grouped Farage,Trump and MK1 together I must admit I understand your logic......

[Inspector Knacker]

Church Streets' problems began when the shopping centre was built and incidentally at the time was subject to questioning of the planning logic at the time at a regional level, where doubts were expressed at the decision. Instead of developing the Lynn Street area it was decided to go for the shiney new toy approach and on the the precinct plan which was even then  going rapidly out of fashion.
The result was an unpopular centre and the loss of a loved one, with a blight on the area it once occupied. There seemed to be no plan for the area and it became a nowhere land where anything seemed to go, a mish mash backwater for far too many years.
Church Street was still there but fell into decline, efforts in the 90's turned it into a tree lined, remodelled urinal and the tenants added little to the ambience. Once the marina opened with it's bars, Church Street died a little more, deserted by day and seedy by night.
The swamp wants draining and starting all over again, but whatever comes requires a bit of imagination and reality on the part of planners and a good look at some of the tacky and misplaced businesses in the immediate area. Sadly it's on the edge of things and a busy road link so there's no easy option, but it really does need a clear out and a realistic attitude instead of wishy washy half soaked re hashing of the 90's gentrification  plan.

[Sanddancer]

The swamp needs draining???)
Did you see Shrek being interviewed on BBC lunchtime news, "promotn the arieh"? He is an embarrassment to the town.

[Inspector Knacker]

Watched it from behind the couch. Was fascinated by the very brief graphic (No12475398876484321) which appeared to show a yellow American school bus, but saw no sign of the Red Arrows.