Hartlepool Homeowner Faces Enforcement Action Over Roof Replacement on Listed Building...

The Property on Regent Street on the Hartlepool's Headland is said to be a listed building, with the materials used to replace the roof said to be not in keeping with the Heritage asset & ordered to revert the property back to its original materials...

7th May 2025

A Hartlepool homeowner is facing enforcement action, after Hartlepool Borough Council claimed that a replacement roof on the Grade II listed property was not in keeping with the building’s historic character.

The property in question, St Helens Lodge on Regent Street, located on the Headland Conservation Area, has become the centre of a planning dispute after the owner reportedly replaced the original roof materials with fibre cement slate instead of natural slate.

Despite there being no public objections, and no recorded concerns from Headland Parish Council, Hartlepool Borough Council is said to have formally issued an enforcement notice against the homeowner, with Hartlepool Borough Council claiming the works have caused “less than substantial harm” to the listed building and surrounding heritage assets.

According to planning documents, the homeowner submitted a retrospective planning application to regularise the change of materials earlier this year. However, in March 2025, the council refused the application, stating:

“In the opinion of the Local Planning Authority, the replacement roof at St Helens Lodge, Regent Street would cause less than substantial harm to the designated heritage assets of Headland Conservation Area and the adjacent Grade II Listed Buildings, by virtue of the use of materials. It is considered that the works would detract from the character and appearance and significance of the designated heritage assets. It is further considered that the applicant has failed to demonstrate that this harm would be outweighed by any public benefits of the development. As such it is considered to be contrary to policies HE1, HE3, HE4 and HE7 of the Hartlepool Local Plan (2018) and paragraphs 203, 210, 212 and 219 of the NPPF (2024).”

HBC Exposed understands that Tony Hanson, Hartlepool Borough Council’s Director of Neighbourhood Services, signed off the decision to proceed with enforcement action via an officer decision record published recently.

The enforcement could result in a court order requiring the roof to be replaced with original materials, and/or a financial penalty being imposed on the homeowner, with the case once again raising important questions about the consistency of planning enforcement in Hartlepool, and whether public interest is truly being served when no local objections were raised—yet significant punitive action is being pursued.