A letter from the UK Government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DHLUC) to Hartlepool Borough Council’s chief executive, Denise McGuckin, was shared by the council boss with councillors. The letter was sent in April and outlines properties that are owned by the council that are wanted by the newly-established Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) in order to redevelop huge parts of the town’s centre.

The MDC is chaired by Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, who has also selected the other board members. It’s a similar structure to the newly-established MDC across the river Tees in Middlesbrough. The Middlesbrough MDC area contains properties that are owned by former Middlesbrough mayor Andy Preston. When this was revealed by the Financial Times, Preston - who was still mayor at the time - said that the idea he was trying to gain financially from his position on the board “would be laughable if it wasn’t so offensive”.

The Hartlepool list includes the civic centre that houses the council, as well as the local magistrates court that has been mothballed since 2017. Hartlepool Council are the freeholders of the court but secured the lease from their tenants, His Majesty's Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS), earlier this year.

Also on the list of property is the council’s offices at Aneurin Bevan House on Avenue Road and a huge plot of land that includes Hartlepool Indoor Bowls Club and Mill House Leisure Centre. Victoria Park, the adjacent football ground which is home to Hartlepool United, is also owned by the council but is not expected to be transferred to the MDC according to the letter.

The letter also states that Ben Houchen wrote to DLUHC on 16 January this year “requesting the transfer of certain assets,” to the MDC.

The list has previously been under consideration at council meetings, however they were published on so-called ‘pink papers’, and therefore confidential. Labour councillors put forward a motion to publicly reveal the assets under consideration in March’s council meeting, but were defeated by 16 votes to 12.

At the time, Denise McGuckin justified the secrecy of the list by saying that the consultation was ongoing. “Until we have reached an agreement on all of them, once we do we will make them public,” she said.

However, a spokesperson for Hartlepool Council told The Yorkshire Post that the list has now been published despite the fact that a consultation was still being undertaken between Hartlepool Council and the government, and that the proposed list had still not been confirmed.

“There is currently a consultation, which is still open, between Hartlepool Borough Council and the Government, led by the Secretary of State. Therefore, at this stage it is only proposed,” they said. The letter from DLUHC states that the consultation is open until 9 June.

List of council assets negotiated in secret for transfer to development corporation revealed