Hartlepool South Western Connectivity: Town Centre to Queens Meadow

Catcote Road – Burn Valley Gardens

Walking, Wheeling, and Cycling Improvements

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

Plans were generally well supported.  There was particular support for: 

• A dedicated walking, wheeling and cycling route from Catcote Road, through Burn Valley Gardens and on to Hartlepool Town Centre. 
• Upgrading the route through Burn Valley Gardens to provide a traffic free route linking to Hartlepool Town Centre. 

Have Your Say

Based on your feedback and design reviews Tees Valley Combined Authority, in partnership with Hartlepool Borough Council, have made some 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 our plans to improve journeys from Catcote Road, through Burn Valley Gardens to Waldon Street.

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

Visualisations

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

This scheme is due to be implemented in autumn 2025.  If you have any remaining questions or feedback about the updated proposals, you can: 

• Complete this feedback survey before 28 February 2025
• Join us at a public drop in event at the Hartlepool Walking and Cycling Hub on Thursday 13 Feb 2025 from 2pm to 6pm at 15 Church St, Hartlepool TS24 7DJ  
• Email any questions or comments to: [email protected]

Next Steps

The plans will be finalised based on further feedback from the survey closing on 28 Feb 2025. Once finalised, Hartlepool Borough Council, in their role as the Highways Authority, will hold a formal advertisement on final plans from March 2025.   

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

Wider Vision for Hartlepool

There is lots of investment going on in Hartlepool town centre to help regenerate the area and encourage growth. This includes £25 million received in 2021 through the Government’s Town Deal which is funding various projects in the town centre 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 jobs and other opportunities in the town centre, as well as increasing visitor numbers.

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 public realm and civic buildings.

These planned improvements could encourage more people to travel in Hartlepool town centre. This means the roads could get busier with more traffic. Tees Valley, in partnership with Hartlepool Borough Council, want to deliver improvements to help support this growth and enable quicker, safer, and more reliable journeys.

Hartlepool South-West Connectivity – Town Centre to Queen’s Meadow

Hartlepool town centre is an important destination for shoppers, workers, and visitors. The Queens Meadow area is to the south-west of the town, linked by Catcote Road and the busy A689. Many people use these roads to move between the town centre and industrial sites to the south, as well as the Queens Meadow Business Park and residential areas to the south.

Current Transport Issues

Lots of buses travel through the town centre but we know that they often get delayed, and do not always turn up on time. Buses also get delayed at busy junctions south of Hartlepool. This causes longer journeys and makes bus travel to areas in the southwest of the town less attractive.

Some people already walk, wheel and cycle in Hartlepool but in certain areas this can feel unsafe, particularly where there is lots of traffic. We want to improve transport links into the town centre to make it safer and easier for people to make more sustainable journeys from the south and west.

In Hartlepool fewer people own cars compared to the rest of England. We want to improve the transport choices available and make sure everyone can get to where they need to be without relying on a car.

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

More Information

Revised Plans

Hartlepool South Western Connectivity: Cacote Road to Burn Valley - Revised Plan PDF, 8 MB View →

Previous Plans

FAQs & Glossary of Terms

Image Library