650m Zip Line Plan for Scarborough North Bay

Friday, 29 September 2023 14:32

By Anttoni James Numminen, Local Democracy Reporter

Scarborough’s North Bay could become home to a 650m zip line adventure experience if the plans receive council support.

Formerly known as Marvel’s Amusement Park, a now overgrown and disused hilltop site in Scarborough’s North Bay could soon see the creation of a large zip line and adventure sports experience.

If approved, the development would include launch and landing towers, the wires connecting the two, as well as reception and safety areas and containers, marquees, gazebos, and toilets.

In addition to the zip line itself, a ‘drop’ ride is proposed for the landing tower.

The proposed ‘Scarborough heights’ site has views over the town’s North Bay and is located south of the Scalby Mills Miniature Railway Station.

The zip line is set to be 650m in length with a total of four zip wires interconnecting the two towers.

The additional ‘drop’ ride would only be available to those already riding the zip line.

According to the applicant, Big Bang Promotions, this ride would provide visitors with the opportunity to “freefall to ground level rather than disembarking the landing tower by the stairs”.

Proposed opening hours for the site suggest that it would open at 8am at the earliest and close between 5pm to 8pm depending on the season and day of the week.

The proposed route would

“sail over open space for the first 350 metres then over the disused crazy golf course running adjacent to the light railway on one side and the promenade on the other for the last 300 metres”.

Both the launch and landing towers have already been constructed and have previously been used at Lambeth Park in London.

Planning documents submitted to North Yorkshire Council have highlighted that the structures would be temporary and that they could be “erected in two weeks and removed in a shorter time frame” with delivery of the tower elements set to take only one day.

Last year, before it was abolished, Scarborough Council approved an adventure sports strategy as well as a wider “masterplan” aimed at developing the North Bay into a “destination of choice” for adrenaline activities alongside the creation of luxury hotels and attracting investment.

According to the applicant, the proposed location

“fits with the Scarborough Borough Council masterplan for the North Bay and the initial lease has been agreed for a three-year period”.

The proposed launch tower would be constructed from a steel frame and would reach a height of 33m whilst the landing tower would “only reach a height of 17m”.

However, the development does not propose “any major physical alterations to the location or its landscape” and if the structures were removed from the site “the location would return to its current layout and appearance”.

The application is currently pending consideration with North Yorkshire Council and the local planning authority, neither of which has yet published recommendations on the plan.

The applicant has consulted with the authorities ahead of its application.