New footpath will guide the way to transformed library  

Wates – which is the principal contractor for Hartlepool’s new multi-million-pound active wellbeing hub Highlight – engaged with its local supply chain and built the footpath at no cost to the Council or local community as part of its ongoing commitment to helping make a positive change in the local area.

The footpath will help encourage park users to drop into the library, which dates from the 1970s but is soon set to be transformed by Hartlepool Borough Council into a welcoming, accessible, sustainable and vibrant Community Hub offering a much wider range of services, including a café area serving drinks and snacks.

Those improvements have been made possible after the Council bid for and won a £200,000 grant from the Libraries Improvement Fund, which is delivered through Arts Council England, with the remaining £50,000 coming from the Council itself.

The Council is also improving the outdoor space around the building and has already installed two granite-topped chess tables, using Levelling Up money from the Government.

Ashley Wilkinson and Becky McEwan, Wates’ Section Manager, Construction - North East and Yorkshire and Councillor Gary Allen on the new footpath

Councillor Gary Allen, Chair of the Council’s Adult and Community-Based Services Committee, said: “We would like to thank Wates and its local supply chain, in this instance Hewitson Ltd, very much for their generosity in creating the footpath at their own expense, which is a clear reflection of their wider commitment to the Hartlepool community.

“The footpath will make it really easy for visitors to Seaton Park to pop straight across to the library and enjoy all the new features which will be on offer once the transformation of the building has been completed, such as dropping in for a coffee and a snack – or even enjoying an outdoor game of chess!”

Ashley Wilkinson, Wates Project Manager – Construction North East and Yorkshire, said: “We were delighted to be given this opportunity to help the Council by constructing the footpath.

“Although we are a national contractor, we very much understand the importance of the Highlight development to the people of Hartlepool and we were very happy to support this separate project to benefit the local community.”