New Life for Historic Former Hartlepool Hotel as Buyer Steps In....

Former Staincliffe Hotel in Seaton Carew, Hartlepool

Its claimed a buyer has now been found for the former Hotel, saving it from developers who sought to have it demolished....

5th June 2025

A long-standing landmark in Seaton Carew has reportedly finally found itself a new owner, following years of decay, failed business ventures and re-development controversy.

The Former Staincliffe Hotel, in Hartlepool's Seaton Carew, once a proud seafront hotel and a staple of the towns hospitality scene, had been languishing in limbo with its future said to have been uncertain. Its claimed under its most recent ownership of Acland Homes, the building was gutted of its contents, stripped bare, and then dumped back onto the open market with no planning permission and a guide price of around £950,000.

Acland Homes had previously floated plans to bulldoze the building to make way for luxury homes – but after facing a somewhat fierce backlash from the local community, the plans were said to have been shelved...Now, it’s claimed the site has been purchased by a recently formed charitable organisation THE RH JOHNSON & CM MCCLURG AMATEUR SPORT FOUNDATION, where, according to a statement published by Seaton Independent Councillor Gordon Cranney, the former hotel will be repurposed into a training and administrative centre via the new charitable foundation supposedly focused on youth sports in Hartlepool.

The statement reads:

“Recognising the building's historical significance to the community, and acknowledging its current state of disrepair (both internally and externally), our immediate focus will be securing the building and undertaking essential repairs… We anticipate community support for our efforts to restore Staincliffe.”

An aerial view of the site when it was placed up for sale earlier this year...

The Staincliffe has sadly a troubled modern past, with multiple owners attempting to turn it into a viable business since the early 2000s. All resulting in failure. Recently, the building had become an all-too-familiar sight in Hartlepool: boarded-up, and vulnerable to the same arson attacks and decay that plagued other historic sites across the town, the most notable being the demolition of the former Odeon Cinema last year, which was destroyed in an arson attack seeing the former Grade II listed building that had stood empty since the early 2000s reduced to rubble. .

If the new ownership genuinely preserves the building for future generations and restores it to community use, it's said to be a welcome change from the usual tale of demolition and developers cashing in. However, critics claim we’ve been here before — vague announcements, recently established charities, and a lack of public consultation. But in any event, its claimed if the new buyers have now saved the building from the wrecking ball & are set to put it to good use, it can only be good news for Hartlepool..