Hartlepool’s former Wesley Chapel

Built in the early 1870s the Wesley Chapel presents an elegant classical stone portico onto a busy road junction in the heart of Hartlepool. It remains an impressive building - despite its many broken windows and the forecourt's new use as a car park.

The owner, Jomast Developments Ltd, was granted permission to convert the former Chapel, previously used as a night club and leisure club, into a 49 bed hotel in 2009 but no work was carried out. A new permission was granted in 2013 but despite pressure from the council, only minimal remedial work to discharge consent conditions seems to have been carried out. Currently the site appears to be entirely inactive.

If a substantive start is not made on the consented works by November 2015, then another consent will lapse. Jomast should fulfil its stated intention of investing in this prominent listed Hartlepool landmark rather than leaving it to decay further.

Other buildings in Hartlepool to be nominated were the Market Hotel, for which listed building consent was granted last year for the conversion of the building into nine flats, and the Shades Hotel which has been closed for several years.

Update - July 2023

In 2019, Jomast Developments, the owner of the Wesley chapel, was granted planning permission to transform the building into a 36-bedroom boutique hotel read the application here.

Following a recent agreement, the project will be financed jointly by Jomast and Hartlepool Council, using money from the government’s Town Deal. Work had now started and the £4m project is expected to be completed by September 2024 read more here