The Hartlepool Town Centre Connectivity Programme is being delivered by civil engineering company BCE Northern Ltd, with funding from the Tees Valley Combined Authority and Travel Active England.
Hartlepool Borough Council is project managing the scheme, which will see three miles of routes built or upgraded between the town’s Headland, town centre marina and Seaton Carew seafront.
It also includes works around the new multi-million-pound Highlight leisure centre, which is located at Jackson’s Wharf, and Catcote Road via Burn Valley Gardens.
BCE Northern, the Gateshead-based family run civil engineering company, was appointed to deliver the two-year project following a competitive tender process.
Managing Director Adrian Barton said: “This project will significantly improve connectivity for walkers and cyclists across Hartlepool, making it a much safer and attractive destination for people who both live in, and visit, the town. The roads in and around Hartlepool town centre are often very busy, which isn’t ideal for the cyclists who are forced to share the road with motorists.”
He added: “Many of the walkways were also in need of resurfacing, so these are works which were crucial to the regeneration and long term growth of the town. We’re now well underway on the second phase of the project, around the Waterfront and Maritime Avenue, which we expect to complete in the autumn. This is a major project for us but one that is testament to our growth as a company and our success in delivering large multi-million-pound schemes across the North of England.”
Hartlepool Borough Council was awarded funding from the Tees Valley Combined Authority as part of the organisation’s commitment to improving roads, walkways and cycle paths around the Tees Valley.
Brendon Colarossi, of Hartlepool Borough Council, said: “It’s fantastic to see these connectivity projects coming to fruition. It is absolutely crucial that people who live in, work in and visit our town can move around safely and freely and this scheme, which covers a three-mile radius around the town centre and marina, will enable them to do just that.”
He added: “The work that has been done so far has been finished to such high standards of workmanship and management, and undertaken with minimal disruption in the area, so we’d like to thank the BCE team and the lads on the ground for their hard work and professionalism. It’s also great to see the next phase of the project underway ahead of schedule.”
