Tranquility House
This project was a Permitted development application to convert an office building in the Hartlepool Marina into apartments. The building itself was a fantastic development opportunity because it already had balconies, good location and views from the amenity space and it was not in a conservation area so the whole building could be done under permitted development.
Key factors in this project included a flood risk assessment however this was a relatively straightforward document as the marina in which it sits has its own in-built flood defences so for planning purposes it is actually in a low risk category.
Hartlepool is a large town in County Durham, England. The town lies on the North Sea coast, 7.5 miles north of Middlesbrough and 17 miles south of Sunderland. Industrialisation and the start of a shipbuilding industry in the latter part of the 19th century made Hartlepool a target for the German Navy at the beginning of the First World War. A severe decline in heavy industries and shipbuilding following the Second World War caused periods of high unemployment until the 1990s when major investment projects and the redevelopment of the docks area into a marina saw a rise in the town’s prospects.
The site is on the east coast, north of Hartlepool town centre and south of Victoria Harbour. It is predominantly surrounded by other office buildings and car parks. To the west of the site is a residential area consisting mainly of terraced houses.
