New shops and flats planned for Middlesbrough town centre
Last updated 1st May 2025
Middlesbrough Development Corporation (MDC) has granted planning permission for new shops and 34 new flats on the corner of Linthorpe Road and Gilkes Street in the town centre.
The approved plans, subject to conditions, will also see a roof terrace. Middlesbrough Council documents explained that within the roof space, an additional single storey extension will provide a communal garden room. Other roof space will provide “outdoor amenity provision including a badminton court and mesh fencing, lawn, seating, raised beds and glass houses and composting bins”.
London based property tycoon and applicant Umar Hussain spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service about his endeavours, which started with planning applications that were submitted all the way back in 2021. He confirmed that this was not his first project in Middlesbrough.
He said: “We’ve got planning for 34 one bedroom/two bedroom apartments, with a mezzanine, so if you look at it as rooms, it’s about 87 rooms overall.” He highlighted the kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms that make up the total number of rooms. Some rooms in the building would be “office space” and the upstairs communal space would have vending machines, he outlined.
Mr Hussain confirmed that the closure of one of the three existing stores in the building in question was purely coincidental. Signs displayed in Select’s Linthorpe Road store announce a “closing down sale” and that “everything must go”. Select, a company which specialises in women’s fashion, did not respond to a comment request asking on which date the store was closing.
Meanwhile, Mr Hussain explained River Island, another existing store in the building, will “stay where they are”. The approved proposals would also create two new shop fronts on Gilkes Street. When asked who he hopes would inhabit the new shops, he said: “We will probably have locals or regionals, you never know, you might get nationals, it all varies”.
As for who the accommodation would be aimed at, he said the flats would be “ideal” for international students as well as working professionals. He added: “I think they’ll benefit because you are right opposite the town centre.”
The design and access statement explained how the redevelopment of the roof would give it a new lease of life. “The existing roof is an extensive flat roof space where it is proposed to create a peaceful idyll by making a roof-top garden and outside terrace to be available for use by all the residents to provide communal amenity space so valuable in a city-centre location.” The approved proposals also include the installation of 28 solar panels within the roof space.
The planning application was submitted before planning powers transferred to the MDC, so Middlesbrough Council continued to assess the application to assist the MDC’s decision. Middlesbrough Council’s delegated report concluded that the proposal is considered to be a “high-quality development that will not have any significant impact on the character of the area”.
The report’s concluding remarks said: “The proposed retail units will contribute to the vitality and viability of the town centre with the residential flats ensuring the long-term use of the building whilst providing adequate residential amenity for future occupants.”
Meanwhile, the MDC approval notice said: “The application is therefore considered to be an acceptable form of development, fully in accordance with the relevant policy guidance and there are no material considerations which would indicate that the development should be refused.”