Council Approves Outline Permission for New Homes on Former Industrial Land ...
- teessidetoday
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Outline Permission Granted for new Homes to be built on a former Industrial Site Near Brenda Road in Hartlepool.
22nd December 2025
Hartlepool Borough Council has this week approved outline planning permission for a new residential development on land west of Brenda Road in Hartlepool, marking a significant change for a long-standing derelict industrial site on the southern edge of town.
The approval reportedly clears the way for the demolition of the existing buildings—most notably the large, North House warehouse— replacing it with new family homes, alongside supporting infrastructure and landscaping. While its claimed the detailed designs will come later next year, the principle of residential development has now been firmly agreed by the local council.
A brownfield site with limited future
The site, covering around 1.6 hectares, has reportedly been vacant & under-used for years. Despite being allocated as employment land in the Local Plan, the buildings have been actively marketed for sale since 2016 with no meaningful commercial interest. Independent viability assessments concluded that refurbishment would be financially unworkable, and that there was no realistic prospect of the site returning to productive industrial use.
In planning terms, its claimed this mattered. National policy encourages councils to prioritise brownfield land for re-development—particularly where leaving it unused would result in continued decline. Its claimed Hartlepool Borough Council accepted that this site had reached that point, especially in the wake of other similar developments in the area being granted approval.
The indicative plans show capacity for around 60 homes, said to be a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom properties.
Access to the site will from Brenda Road itself, with highway improvements agreed in principle, including footways and cycle considerations. The southern access will be closed to reduce traffic conflict, and green space will be incorporated, particularly along sensitive boundaries.
Changing surroundings
One of the key factors supporting approval is how dramatically the area around the site has changed. Directly opposite, a large new housing estate is already nearing completion. Nearby, a new SEN school has been approved and is moving forward, where what was once a predominantly industrial fringe of the town is now increasingly becoming residential and community-focused.
Planning officers reportedly accepted that continuing to protect this site for employment use simply no longer reflected reality—and that re-developing it would actually improve the setting for nearby homes and the new school.
A wide range of technical assessments were submitted, covering traffic, flood risk, noise, air quality, ecology and trees where its claimed that, On balance, officers concluded that none of these issues justified refusal of the plans.
Planning law requires local councils to approve sustainable development unless the harm clearly outweighs the benefits. In this case, Hartlepool Borough Council found that redeveloping the derelict brownfield site into housing would deliver New homes in a sustainable location as well as providing a visual and environmental improvement to the area & additional council tax revenue through Housing Growth.
The developers, Sayser Developments, will now need to submit a reserved matters application covering layout, appearance, scale and landscaping, where that stage will bring further public consultation and scrutiny, however the current approved application drew in no objections from the local community, suggesting the plans may be looked upon positively by locals and marking another step in the ongoing reshaping of this part of Hartlepool—from outdated industrial land to a modern residential estate.
