Five developments to look out for in Stockton in 2022

But next year promises plenty of events, decisions, and developments to come. 

Here are five of the main ones to look out for. 

Demolition of the Castlegate 

The face and skyline of Stockton’s High Street will change again next year. 

Read more: Major Roads Report published by Transport for the North

The Castlegate is due to be demolished alongside the former Swallow Hotel. 

Negotiations with some of its remaining tenants are understood to be continuing with a number moved over to council-owned Wellington Square.

Designed by corrupt architect John Poulson, the Castlegate opened its doors in 1972.

Stockton Council paid £13.8m to get control of the shopping centre and the nearby former Swallow in 2019. 

A masterplan for Stockton town centre is to see the creation of a new urban park and waterfront development. Picture: Stockton Council

They will be replaced by an ambitious riverside park three times the size of Trafalgar Square to open up the town to the river with green space and spots for events. 

The park and new office buildings have a target completion date of 2025.

North Tees cash bid 

Crumbling University Hospital of North Tees is in desperate need of a replacement. 

Freezing pipes, broken ceiling panels, and leaking roofs are hampering efforts to keep the Hardwick site fit for purpose. 

It is costing £8m a year just to keep North Tees in its current tired condition – and trust leaders have warned the site only has 10 years left before it needs replacing entirely.

Trust chiefs have drawn up a £380m vision to give Stockton and Hartlepool a site fit for the 21st century. 

North Tees didn’t make an initial list of 32 new hospital sites announced by the government in 2020. 

But both Stockton MPs and Hartlepool’s MP have backed the North Tees new bid to be included in an extra eight sites touted for work by 2030. 

North Tees will find out whether it has made the cut in the spring.

Thornaby and Yarm Town Hall revamps

Two historic town halls are also set for a big 2022. 

Thornaby Town Hall. Picture: Katie Lunn

Long-awaited efforts to convert Grade II listed Yarm Town Hall into a heritage centre are due to come to fruition. 

Council officials say work will start in Spring once permission and tenders are sorted.

Building and renovations is then expected to take roughly six to eight months with hopes to have the overhaul completed at the back end of 2022. 

Cash from the £20m “Levelling Up Fund” allocation to Stockton South is to help pay for the £600,000 overhaul. 

Further north, efforts to revitalise Thornaby Town Hall are almost complete. 

Thornaby Town council bought the 127-year-old hall from Stockton Council in 2012 following a legal wrangle.

Most of it has sat unused and decaying since 1968.

But cash from the Heritage Lottery Fund and a public works loan has helped the revamp – with the upstairs chamber restored to its former glory with the hope it will host weddings soon.

Several offices have also been created in the 19th century hall with longer term hopes to rent out space. 

Covid and vandalism have hampered efforts but the hall is expected to open to Thornaby’s public to have a look in the opening months of the year.

Norton One way system 

Norton’s High Street has seen work in 2021 – with a new replacement foundation at the duck pond.

Improvements have been lined up to the perimeter path, steps, railing and seating in Spring. 

But big changes are also afoot at the southern end of the village centre.

A one-way loop from Norton Road and right to the roundabout near the Red Lion pub has been planned to cope with Norton’s increased footfall.

The plans would see Harland Place pedestrianised – with the two-way part of the High Street from Norton Road made into a one-way northbound route. 

More than a dozen extra parking spaces are also set to be created with the option of shutting the road off to create market days for stallholders. 

Taxi spaces are also planned with the space outside Costa Coffee also set for an overhaul. 

Another consultation is expected in the first half of the year.

But council officials say work could start in the summer and last for around six months.

Billingham station works and town centre buyout

Access difficulties at Billingham railway station have led to years of pleas for something to be done. 

However, 2022 is set to be the year when it finally sees some action – with a new footbridge, lifts and car park facilities.

Some disabled passengers have been forced to take taxis to nearby stations to get on trains passing through Billingham.

But money from the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA), Stockton Council and Network Rail will allow work to start in March next year – with a completion target of November 2022. 

However, a question mark still hangs over what will happen to the town’s western precinct next year.

Stockton Council has unveiled plans to buy up the shopping district from owner St Modwen in a bid to rebalance its retail offer and deal with vacancy rates. 

The efforts were struck a hammer blow when its £20m Levelling Up bid was unsuccessful – leading to strong criticism from leader Cllr Bob Cook. 

The authority is set to lodge another bid for the second round of the fund in 2022. 

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