Hartlepool United Football Club and Hartlepool Borough Council are
signing a Memorandum of Understanding to formally work together. The collaborative
agreement looks to ensure the Club's long-term sustainable future as a key
organisation in the town and to progress opportunities to create a new multi-purpose stadium site alongside regeneration of the town's Mill
House area.Since taking ownership, Chairman Raj Singh has funded a rescue package
which secured the short-term future of the Club. Having already made some
significant changes he is now in the process of developing a vision and
business plan to take the club forward longer-term.The Council has recognised the importance of the
Club to the local community and supports this ambition, with a goal to
ultimately create an entity which provides not only football but is a hub at
the heart of the town, providing a range of sport, education, health, business
and event activities.With Victoria Park aging there is a need to progress redevelopment
options and at
the same time the upcoming replacement of Mill House Leisure Centre
with a new multi-million pound leisure centre on The Waterfront provides the
opportunity to explore collaborative options for redeveloping the Mill House
site alongside Victoria Park.On Friday 18th June the Council and Club will sign the
Memorandum of Understanding in which they will undertake to work together
including the key priorities of:- Contributing
to the development of a shared vision and strategic masterplan for
Victoria Park and the Mill House area of Hartlepool.
- Identifying
options and establishing initial priorities for the redevelopment of the
Victoria Park stadium and training facilities.
- Working collaboratively to bring forward strategic development proposals which ensure the sustainability of the site and the Club.
- Jointly seeking project finance including from external investment sources.
Councillor Shane Moore, Leader of Hartlepool Borough Council, said:
“Hartlepool United Football Club is an important and much-loved part of
Hartlepool life.“We are looking forward to working with the Club to help it become a
dynamic force for the future, providing a wide range of benefits and opportunities
across the whole of the community and secure in the longer term.”Denise McGuckin, the Council's Manging Director, added: “We are also
looking forward to exploring with the Club options for redeveloping the Mill
House site, revitalising this key area in the centre of town.“All of this will take careful long-term planning and we are only at the
start of these discussions, but there is exciting potential to bring major
benefits to both the Club and the town as a whole.” Raj Singh, Hartlepool United Football Club Chairman, said: “We are delighted to be signing this Memorandum of Understanding to work together with the Council – it represents a small but important milestone.
https://youtu.be/D3ucykVKva8
“Lee Rust has been working with the Club over the past year as an
adviser and he has played an important role in helping us to arrive at this
Memorandum.“Working together I hope that we will ultimately have the opportunity tocreate something special which can benefit the whole town.”
Lee Rust, Executive Advisor to Hartlepool
United Football Club, said: “The Club has for many years
talked about its aspiration to improve the stadium.”“We're very excited about the potential for the Victoria Park and MillHouse sites and we're looking forward to working with the Council.
“We hope to not only be able to create a first-class facility for
football but also a multi-purpose site that is commercially viable and sits at
the heart of local community activity.”