Demolition Plans for former Care Home Approved after months of delays...

West View Lodge Care Home Hartlepool

Plans for Demolition of the heavily vandal stricken building were set to commence in the middle of March, However HBC Exposed understands those plans have now been approved after months of delays...

19th August 2025

Plans for the demolition of a vandal stricken care home have finally been approved months after they were submitted to the local council in a bid to ensure the heavily damaged building did not remain a persistent nuisance to local residents.

Initially slated to begin in mid-March 2025, the demolition of West View Lodge Care Home was reportedly delayed due to the prolonged decision-making process by Hartlepool Borough Council’s planning officers.

Its claimed despite no objections to the proposals and visible preparations made on-site, the final approval come only months later, leaving developers having to continually push back demolition dates for the structure to finally be brought down.

According to documents seen by The Teesside & Durham Post, the site’s owner, North Bay Developments Limited, submitted plans earlier this year to demolish the heavily damaged building, which suffered significant destruction in an arson attack back in August 2022. The fire left the building structurally unsafe and an eyesore for the local community, prompting calls for its demolition to pave the way for a future redevelopment. The original timeline aimed for demolition to commence in March with the development to be wrapped up within eight to ten weeks, a process that would have seen the site levelled and cleared by the early summer, with a decision on the approval of the demolition of the building only coming this week by Planning Officials at Hartlepool Borough Council, who agreed, the building should be demolished.

Once part of a functioning care home, West View House has been abandoned since the 2022 fire, which saw firefighters battle for over six hours to contain the flames. The blaze caused extensive damage, rendering around 40% of the structure unsalvageable and exposing it to further deterioration from vandalism and the elements.

For local residents, the site had become a symbol of neglect, with many nearby residents eager to see it demolished & replaced by something new—though plans for the land’s future use remain undisclosed, pending a separate planning application.

North Bay Developments Limited, led by Adam Hartley, emphasised the need to demolish the building not just for safety reasons, but also to unlock the site’s potential for redevelopment, with the company reportedly having an experienced contractor lined up ready to carry out the work..

The West View Lodge Care Home is not to be confused with the former Admiral Court Nursing Home which is within walking distance of each other, another care home which has been left to considerable neglect & is now effectively in legal 'limbo', with the former Nursing Home also laying in ruins due to repeated fire damage, this is despite efforts by Hartlepool Borough Council to spur the developers to tend to the site & make it safe.

The approval of at least one heavily damaged building for demolition is at least some progress for locals living in the West View / Central Estate Area, who've seen the property become a target for multiple arson attacks & vandalism, with many locals pleased Hartlepool Borough Councils finally come to a decision to end the misery of the building becoming a blot on the towns landscape for any longer, however the speed of the councils decision making has also left some wondering whether the councils bid to 'clean up' Hartlepool of its grot spots isn't being taken very seriously when decisons for demolitions are taking months.... & in some cases even years .