Plans revealed for 462-home North-East Middlehaven neighbourhood

Capital&Centric and Middlesbrough Council have unveiled proposals for 462 homes at Middlehaven as the first phase of plans to create a new mixed-use neighbourhood around the area's existing education, employment and sporting facilities.

The developer is working with international architect MVRDV and Liverpool-based shedkm on plans for land surrounding Middlehaven's Old Town Hall.

The first phase would introduce houses and low-rise Build to Rent apartments alongside shared gardens, play streets, pedestrian routes and new community spaces.

Capital&Centric and the council are now seeking public feedback before progressing the proposals towards a potential planning application later this year.

The wider ambition is to use residential development to connect assets already established at Middlehaven, including schools, further education, major sporting facilities and a cluster of digital, technology and creative businesses.

New cafes, bars and restaurants are also envisaged as part of the neighbourhood.

Capital&Centric describes the concept as potentially the first UK neighbourhood to combine homes, secondary and further education, major sporting facilities and a dedicated digital and creative business community within a single walkable campus.

The initial 462-home development would focus on establishing a residential community around the Old Town Hall, with new green spaces and pedestrian-friendly streets providing connections into the surrounding Middlehaven area.

Dan White, Development Director at Capital&Centric, said: “Middlehaven has something pretty special already. You’ve got schools and a college, brilliant sports facilities and a growing community of digital, tech and creative businesses – all within walking distance of each other. What’s been missing is the hundreds of homes that knits everything up for residents and visitors.

“Our ambition is to bring all of that together and create something we don’t think exists anywhere else in the UK: a proper neighbourhood where you can live, learn, work and play, all in one place.”

The proposals form part of wider ambitions to increase the residential population in and around Middlesbrough town centre.

Rather than developing the currently underused land solely for housing, the emerging masterplan is intended to establish stronger connections between residential development and the employment, education and leisure uses already present at Middlehaven.

White added: “It means so much more than putting a few hundred homes on empty sites. We’re connecting everything that’s already here and creating a community around it.

“But we’re still at an early stage. We want people in Middlesbrough to come down, see what we’re thinking and tell us what they love, what they don’t and what would make it even better.”

A public consultation will take place at TigerIvy on Albert Road in Middlesbrough on 10 September, with feedback used to inform the next stage of the scheme's design.

Councillor Theo Furness, Middlesbrough Council's Executive Member for Economic Development, said: “The plans for Middlehaven are hugely exciting. Building thousands of attractive new homes is key to our vision for the town centre.

“The area has a proud past and I know it means a great deal to many people. It’s really important that people give us their views on this big opportunity for Middlesbrough.”

Capital&Centric and Middlesbrough Council will review the consultation responses before continuing to develop the proposals, with a planning application potentially following later in 2026.