Hartlepool’s ambitious waterfront regeneration has taken another significant leap forward thanks to a £2,458,641 grant from the Dept. for Culture, Media and Sport’s Museum Estate and Development Fund.
The funding, which was bid for by Hartlepool Borough Council, will deliver ‘Hartlepool’s Industrial to Green Revolution: Transitioning the Museum of Hartlepool into a Sustainable Civic Museum’ – a major project that will safeguard the Museum of Hartlepool and its much‑loved collections.
Over the next two years, the investment will enable urgent structural repairs to the museum building, including roof improvements, upgraded windows and insulation and enhanced drainage.
Visitors will also benefit from improved toilet facilities in the museum, alongside the installation of new accessible lifts to support future visitor needs, and access improvements on the neighbouring paddle steamer PS Wingfield Castle.
The museum’s outdated heating system will be replaced with a cutting‑edge water‑source heating system, dramatically improving energy efficiency.
In addition, there will be major upgrades to fire detection and security systems throughout the museum and its surrounding site.
Once complete, the works will improve thermal efficiency, provide fully independent access for disabled visitors and ensure Hartlepool’s important heritage collections continue to be protected and enjoyed.
Gemma Ptak, Hartlepool Borough Council’s Director of Housing, Communities and Growth, said: “This investment marks another hugely exciting moment for Hartlepool.
“The Museum of Hartlepool is central to telling the story of our borough’s proud past, and this funding allows us to protect that heritage while considerably improving the visitor experience.
“By creating a greener, more accessible and more resilient museum, we’re not only preserving these treasured assets but also strengthening the role of culture within Hartlepool’s wider regeneration.
“This funding will help us towards our longer-term goal of an inspiring waterfront destination that the whole community can be proud of.”
This latest investment builds on £1.8m of funding already secured by the Council from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to carry out restoration work on the adjacent paddle steamer PS Wingfield Castle, including extensive hull and deck restoration and improved public access.
This in turn is part of the Council’s wider Tides of Change Project – initial work is under way using a development grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to develop a proposal to reimagine the Museum of Hartlepool and the PS Wingfield Castle as dynamic, inclusive attractions that celebrate the town’s heritage in bold new ways. The full transformation is expected to be completed by 2029.