Owners of Fire-Ravaged Former Bar in Hartlepool Served Enforcement Notice by Hartlepool Borough Council..
- teessidetoday
- Jul 1
- 3 min read
The former bar, which closed last year was placed up for sale, where just months later, a fire caused substantial damage & the owners now facing enforcement action by the local council....
1st July 2025
The owners of a fire damaged building have just a short space of time to act upon a formal enforcement notice issued by the local council or face fines & even a criminal prosecution, after public protection officers claim they've had enough of a local grot spot...
HBC Exposed can reveal the owners of the fire-damaged former Eskimo Joe’s bar on Victoria Road, Hartlepool, have now been officially served with an enforcement notice by Hartlepool Borough Council. The once-popular venue, which was gutted in a suspected arson attack earlier this year, has since become a magnet for anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping — drawing widespread complaints from local residents.
The enforcement notice, issued on 27th June 2025 by HBC's Public Protection Department, demands urgent remedial works to secure and clean up the now-derelict site.
Under the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act, the landowners have been ordered to:
Repair the rear fire escape door
Board up and secure all broken windows
Remove waste and dumped rubbish from the premises
Fully secure the site to prevent further unlawful entry
Its claimed a failure to comply could result in financial penalties, or even a criminal prosecution against the landowner, under public protection legislation.
The enforcement notice comes after months of inaction since the bar's closure, with the ltd company Eskimo Joes (Hartlepool) Ltd Company number 14105800 said to have left a trail of debts to its creditors before being plunged into insolvency. The building was then later listed for sale through a local estate agent — but that sale was disrupted when a suspected arson attack tore through the premises, causing extensive fire damage...
The blaze also impacted a neighbouring business, with the fire then spreading to an adjacent property and causing tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage, leaving the neighbouring venue temporarily shut & still to this day, remaining closed.
Residents and campaigners are said to have voiced their anger over the prolonged delay in securing the site, branding it a “public safety hazard” and a “shameful eyesore” that highlights a wider problem of neglected buildings across Hartlepool. The council has been accused of dragging its feet in forcing landlords to maintain derelict commercial properties that are increasingly becoming hotspots for crime and disorder, however its claimed HBC was only spurred into action after its claimed a number of local Urban Explorers had documented their visits online highlighting just how insecure the property had become.
The latest enforcement follows similar concerns raised by HBC Exposed about the state of vacant and burned-out buildings in the town— including the now former Carlton Bingo Hall and the nearby 42nd Street, which continue to pose risks to public safety whilst draining taxpayer resources.
Previous efforts to get absent landlords spurred into taking action on their derelict properties has reportedly been fruitless, leading to the former Odeon Cinema, a former Grade II listed Building being completely destroyed in an arson attack last year leading to its demolition with fears this could be the latest building in a long line of grot spot properties being left to decay, only to become a magnet for anti social behaviour & the threat of arson further arson attacks.
