OneBeyond opens at Middleton Grange, Hartlepool

New OneBeyond store brings fresh investment and jobs to Middleton Grange

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Value retailer OneBeyond has opened in the former River Island unit at Middleton Grange, adding jobs and another occupied shop to Hartlepool town centre.

By The Tees Editorial Desk · 13 August 2026

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Middleton Grange has welcomed a new retailer after OneBeyond opened in the Hartlepool shopping centre’s former River Island unit.

The ribbon was cut on 12 August, with the opening announced by the following day. OneBeyond sells value-priced household, food, health, beauty, seasonal and everyday goods. The business opened its first shop in 2019 and now operates more than 100 stores around the UK.

A new use for a familiar unit

Taking on a unit previously occupied by a national fashion chain gives the opening significance beyond a single shopfront. Filling established space keeps footfall moving through the centre, adds work for local people and gives other traders another reason for shoppers to visit.

The authority did not publish a precise number of jobs created, so the opening should not be read as a claim about a large employment scheme. It is, however, a piece of new investment that customers can see and use immediately.

OneBeyond area manager Darron Hitchcock said the team was looking forward to welcoming both new and returning customers. Middleton Grange manager Nik McDonald described the arrival of a growing national retailer as a sign of business confidence in the centre and in Hartlepool.

Part of a wider town-centre job

Middleton Grange is owned by Hartlepool Development Corporation. The organisation is working on the centre’s long-term financial future and on wider plans for the town centre, making the strength of the current tenant mix an important part of a much larger challenge.

Pamela Hargreaves, chair of the development corporation, said the shop had brought fresh investment and new local jobs while broader plans continued to develop. That is a measured way to view the opening. One new tenant cannot transform a shopping centre by itself, but occupied units, useful shops and steady footfall are the building blocks any wider plan needs.

For shoppers, the change is simpler: the former River Island space is active again, the doors are open and a new team is trading in the heart of Hartlepool.

: The opening date, unit history and company details were checked against the Tees Valley Combined Authority report of 13 August 2026. Image: Tees Valley Combined Authority.