Swallow Hotel, Stockton: Drone footage shows demolition of former hotel

The footage shows the ongoing demolition of the former Swallow Hotel on Stockton High Street. It is the start of a town centre overhaul touted as “the biggest change in a generation” and “an iconic, nationally recognisable new public space”.

Stockton Council has released the videos, captured earlier this month, circling the hotel as it is brought to the ground. The demolition of the Castlegate Shopping Centre is to follow, making way for the planned Stockton Waterfront urban park and plaza.

The council says the west end of the hotel’s floor-by-floor works will be completed next week, along with demolition of the multi-storey car park as far as the Millennium footbridge. Clearing these areas will allow the complete removal of the rest of the hotel using a high-reach excavator by the end of February.

Scaffolding has also been put up on the Castlegate centre to prepare for demolition of its southern section. Plans have gone into the council’s planning department for “the re-alignment and bridging over the A1305, creation of new urban park, performance space and pavilions”.

Chiefs have described the designs as a “transformational public space for residents and visitors” including two large event spaces, an oval lawn close to High Street and an amphitheatre with a large terraced area, a riverside central stage, ramps and steps. A large-scale play area with water features is planned as a central focal point, with an urban park linking the High Street to the riverside.

The masterplan also includes a new library, leisure centre, register office, customer service centre and NHS hub or diagnostic centre, with Riverside Road to be narrowed and tunnelled. A decision on planning permission on “phases 3-9” is expected to be made in the spring, and if approved, completion of the park and buildings in 2024 to 2025.

Asked about the costs of the project at a recent council meeting, regeneration cabinet member Councillor Nigel Cooke said Castlegate cost £14.76m to acquire in 2018, with the demolition contract costing £4.95m. He said: “On our watch we refuse to lay down and merely manage decline. We will do all we can to ensure that our town centres survive as places to shop, work, live and enjoy.”