Hartlepool Northern Connectivity: Town Centre to Headland

In July and August 2024, we asked for your feedback on our initial proposals to provide better connections into Hartlepool Town Centre to The Headland for people walking, wheeling, and cycling.  

Plans were well supported overall. There was strong support for: 

• A dedicated walking, wheeling, and cycling route from Hartlepool Centre and The Headland.   
• A 4.5 metre bi-directional walking and cycling route alongside the A179, West View Road, Cleveland Road, Marina Way and Maritime Avenue 

Have Your Say

Based on your feedback, Tees Valley Combined Authority – in partnership with Hartlepool Borough Council – have made further updates to our plans, with the aim of making walking, wheeling, and cycling safer and more attractive options.  

The Levelling Up Funding (LUF) secured for this project is fully pledged for sustainable transport projects to promote more walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport in our area.  

Please view the overview map here and our plans to improve journeys from Hartlepool Centre to The Headland. 

This scheme is due to start construction in autumn 2025. TRO (Traffic Regulation Orders) statutory advertisement to start mid April 2025. If you have any remaining questions or comments about the updated plan, you can:

• Complete this feedback survey before 30 April 2025.   
• Join us at a public event on Friday 11 April 2025 from 12-4pm at The Hartlepool Museum , Maritime Avenue, Hartlepool S24 0XZ 
• Email any questions or comments to: [email protected] 

For an enlarged version of the map, please click here.

Next Steps 

The plans will be finalised based on further feedback from the survey closing on 30 April 2025.

Additional plans to improve transport in Hartlepool will be coming forward later this year; please sign up to stay informed 

Hartlepool Station Improvements

Hartlepool Rail Station to the north of the town centre is Tees Valley’s third busiest rail station, with over half a million passengers every year. The Headland is around two miles northeast from Hartlepool Rail Station. The Hartlepool Headland is the most southerly point of the Heritage Coastal footpath route and is a popular destination for visitors.

Tees Valley have improved Hartlepool Rail Station with work completed in Spring 2024 to allow for more trains and faster services to/from Hartlepool and to improve passenger facilities at the Station. Further details on these improvements can be seen here. The improvements will:

• Allow for more trains and faster services to and from Hartlepool.
• Improve passenger facilities at the station.

However, there are poor walking, wheeling, and cycling links between Hartlepool Station and The Headland which limits peoples transport options. Our proposed plans give people more choice in how they travel.

Wider Vision for Hartlepool

There is lots of investment going on in Hartlepool town centre to regenerate the area and encourage growth. This includes £25 million received in 2021 through the Government’s Town Deal, which is funding various projects including the Waterfront Connectivity Project, Re-imagining Middleton Grange Shopping Centre, and restoring the former Wesley Chapel. Hartlepool Borough Council has also been awarded money from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund to create a Production Village in the Lynn Street and Whitby Street area of the town centre. These projects will create more jobs and opportunities in the town centre, as well as attracting more visitors.

Alongside these projects is the Hartlepool’s Development Corporation which has been formed to transform Hartlepool and includes: Oakesway Business Park, Queens Meadow Business Park, retail and leisure land – including Mill House Leisure Centre and Middleton Grange Shopping Centre, with and civic buildings.

These planned improvements could encourage more people to travel in Hartlepool town centre. This means roads will get busier, and traffic could worsen. Tees Valley, in partnership with Hartlepool Borough Council, want to deliver safe and easy routes for more people to enjoy walking and cycling more, especially on shorter trips.

Current Issues

There are no dedicated, continuous walking, wheeling, or cycling paths between Hartlepool town centre and the Headland.

There is an existing shared use cycle route next to the seafront, along Marine Drive and Sea View Terrace. But this route does not continue all the way into Hartlepool town centre. In some places, cyclists need to share road space with cars, even on busy roads. This can feel unsafe for some people using the route and can discourage people from cycling in this area.

Opportunities 

We want to deliver improvements to help improve walking, wheeling, and cycling journeys and make these more attractive travel options. 

Here are some opportunities that may help address the issues in this area: 

• Introduce a dedicated cycle route 
• Introduce a 4.5 metre bi-directional walking and cycling route alongside the A179, West View Road, Cleveland Road, Marina Way and Maritime Avenue. 
• Provide a toucan crossing over The Highlight for walkers, wheelers, and cyclists. 
• Introduce a 2.5-metre-wide cycleway at footpath level on The Highlight. 
• Provide a parallel crossing over Middleton Road and the A1048/A179 roundabout for walkers, wheelers, and cyclists. 
• Provide a toucan crossing of Cleveland Road near Lancaster Road North for walkers, wheelers, and cyclists. 
• Provide priority crossings of side roads along Cleveland Road for walkers, wheelers, and cyclists. 
• Provide a toucan crossing over West View Road for walkers, wheelers, and cyclists. 
• Provide a parallel crossing over Old Cemetery Road for walkers, wheelers, and cyclists. 
• Reduce general traffic speeds with traffic calming or reducing speed limits. 

Benefits

These may offer the following benefits: 

• Safer, joined up and more attractive walking, wheeling, and cycling paths including wider paths, segregation from vehicles and new footpaths, cycle paths or shared walking and cycling spaces. 
• Safer walking, wheeling, and cycling crossings. 
• Contributes to the delivery of a safe and connected walking, wheeling and cycle network across Hartlepool. 

More Information

Revised Plans

Headland Cycleway PDF, 2 MB View →

FAQs & Glossary of Terms

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