How a £1.27m Hartlepool Youth Centre Refurbishment Has Been Turned into a Gift-Wrapped Campaign for Labour..

It seems many in Hartlepool are questioning whether £1.27 Million Pounds was really needed to refurbish a Youth Centre....

Rossmere’s £1.27m Glow-Up Exposes Uneven Investment Across Hartlepool & Labours desperate bid to keep its stronghold council wards....

16th November 2025

Last week, Hartlepool Borough Council officially reopened The Rossmere Youth Centre following a major £1.27 million refurbishment — supposedly funded via the Government’s Youth Investment Fund.

On the surface, this is welcome: young people in Hartlepool now have access to a modernised sports hall, a training kitchen, a wellbeing room, as well as a café/social space. Scratch below the glossy grand opening, and some uncomfortable questions emerge — chiefly about priorities, political theatre, and whether this is more about political promotion of Labours Councillors coming up for election rather than any real, equitable investment.

Because locals once again seem to be seeing the recurring theme going on, & that's the number of Labour Councillors getting prime place in one of the towns local 'rags' & seems very happy to offer them a helping hand on their upcoming election campaign as Reform UK stares down the barrel of what could be an unprecedented gain in Hartlepool in May 2026, leaving Labour perilously close to losing control of Hartlepool Borough Council in the process.

Is £1.27 Million for a Youth Centre 'Overkill' in Today’s Economic Times ?

One of Hartlepool's most prized maritime assets lays decaying in a berth on Hartlepool Marina, standing as a testament of council neglect & underfunding as the local council waits for its next pot of 'free money'...

In an era where public services and local budgets are under severe strain, committing over a million pounds to refurbish a youth centre feels 'excessive'. That’s not to say investment in such services is bad — far from it. But is it the right investment in the current economic climate, especially when other parts of Hartlepool appear to be similarly neglected?

Refurbishing buildings is one thing; maintaining them is another. A shiny, new youth centre is fantastic — but what guarantee do local's have that the running costs (staff, utilities, upkeep) won’t become a problem further down the line? You don't have to look very far to see council neglect in Hartlepool & what happens when the council diverts funds away from some of its most prized assets. The Wingfield Castle rusting to death on the Hartlepool Marina is a prime example...

Many locals living in Hartlepool's de-bruce ward wont even know who Rachel Creevey is

The Local Newspapers coverage (notably in the piece by MP Jonathan Brash) leans heavily into praise for local Labour figures, particularly that of Rachael (Who's Rachael Creevey), who just so happens to be yet another highly coveted Labour Councillor who's up for election in May 2026 in a council ward Reform UK are looking to target. The headline, “There’s much more to come … says Hartlepool MP …” sounds less like impartial reportage and more like campaign messaging, something locals have picked up on lately as the towns Labour Group bends the rules on using council press releases for political gain over its rivals.

Cllr Rachel Creevey (Pictured far Left) is up for election in may 2026, explaining her most recent photoshoots for a local left wing extremist newspaper who regularly promotes the local Labour Group

Brash explicitly thanks “Councillor … Rachel Creevy” (sic) for her role in championing youth services. That’s fine if it’s genuine — but Creevey is the former chair of the children’s services committee, and crucially, she’s up for election in the De-Bruce ward in May. Brash’s piece could once again be easily construed as a political endorsement. If Creevey is being positioned as a “champion of youth,” why does the local newspaper make no mention of comparable investment in her own ward, De-Bruce? A strong track record in visible, high-cost projects elsewhere may make for soundbites, but where's the commitment to her constituents at street level in her own council ward she supposed to represent ?

Why the Timing Feels Suspicious

With Creevey set to defend her council seat in May 2026 (& poised to lose it at the current projections), and with the centre reopened, the timing is politically opportune. This isn’t a neutral public service announcement — it feels like a Labour early campaign rally, framed by carefully chosen messaging. The Local newspapers tone throughout is overwhelmingly flattering. There’s virtually no counterbalance — no voices of concern, no budget scepticism, no dissent. That absence is itself striking. A £1.27 million public project warrants more nuanced public debate than a feel-good press release.

Its all led to claims that if Hartlepool Borough Council can marshal this much funding for one youth centre, why aren’t equally ambitious plans being rolled out to other youth services, especially in underinvested wards? The fact that the local newspapers story is being used politically suggests that some areas, for the local Labour Group at least are priority zones — not necessarily because of greatest need, but because of the potential electoral advantage they may bring to the towns Labour Group.

Yes, a modern, well-equipped youth centre is a positive thing — but £1.27 million is a serious sum, especially now & especially just six months before a critical local election is set to be held in the town. Instead of celebrating uncritically, locals should be asking the question: is this genuine community investment, or a high-profile political showcase to keep Labour in power ?