A £3.5 Million Sea Cadet Training Centre Will Transform Filey's Southdene Pavilion Site

A century-old pavilion in Filey will be demolished to make way for a £3.5 million state-of-the-art Sea Cadet training centre featuring 48-bed dormitories and community spaces.

A £3.5 million state-of-the-art youth training facility will replace a century-old pavilion in Filey following a successful planning application.

The new Sea Cadet headquarters will feature 48-bed dormitories, powerboat storage, disabled access, and a multi-use community hall. North Yorkshire Council officials approved the plans for the Southdene Pavilion site, paving the way for demolition work to begin in November.

The current 100-year-old building, which has previously served as a theatre and dance hall, has been home to the Filey Sea Cadets for four decades.

Steven Hopkinson, Chair of Filey Sea Cadets, said:

"For 10 years, we have always been talking about redeveloping the building simply because of the building's age and state of disrepair.The building itself is over 100 years old. It's not in a great state. It's full of woodworm and rot. It's in quite a bad state of disrepair, to be honest.

The building itself was actually to be demolished before we actually moved into the building over 40 years ago now. But we've made the best use of the building for the time that we've had it. But now it's time for something else to be put in its place.

This is something that we've talked about for 10 years. We have attempted to put forward plans in the past. This time round, we've got the plans right and we've been very fortunate in receiving the support that we have to get through the planning."

Preparation work is already underway at the site, with full construction scheduled to begin in early 2027.

Mr Hopkinson outlined the timeline for the development:

"This project is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Filey. This project is going to be a real investment in the young people of Filey, probably the largest investment in youth community facilities in Filey in the last 100 years. So, anyone that wants to get involved, anyone that can support us, we'd really appreciate it.

Already, we have various contractors that are performing bits of survey work to get us ready for demolition. The intention is that we demolish the building before the end of the year and we start with construction early in 2027, which should allow us to open in April of 2028."

The 18-month construction period means the unit, which supports up to 60 cadets and over 40 adult volunteers, will need to relocate temporarily.

Mr Hopkinson confirmed the logistical arrangements for the unit during the build:

"We are already set to move into new premises to parade temporarily, but of course, it is going to be very difficult. The timescale for the build is 18 months. That's 18 months that we are going to be without a home. Fortunately, we have support from within the community in that we have been able to find locations to store all of our kit. And when we get to the summer period, which is our boating season, then we will largely be out on the water anyway. So we won't be in such need of a building at that time, but in the interim, over the winter months, we will be parading from these alternate locations."

Once completed, the modern facility will not only serve local young people but will also act as a hub for visiting groups.

Mr Hopkinson highlighted the wider regional benefits of the new facility:

"The new building is going to be a state-of-the-art centre of excellence for the young people of Filey, primarily, but it will also serve as a regional centre of excellence for the entire Yorkshire Coast and indeed, North Yorkshire.

So, it's not just going to be used by the Sea Cadets, it's going to be used by our sister Sea Cadet units in the region, as well as many other youth groups, such as the other cadet forces and scouts and anyone else that wants to perhaps come to Filey and offer a residential, make use of the bay or other amenities and facilities in the area."

The inclusion of residential capabilities is a key feature of the approved plans.

Mr Hopkinson detailed the specific amenities the new headquarters will offer:

"One of the best points of this building is that it will have a dedicated 48 bed capacity dorm. This means that we can offer residential courses, where groups can come and stay perhaps for a weekend or even a week, and then they can go out in the bay and make use of our boats to go out boating in a variety of different disciplines such as power boating, sailing, paddle boarding.

And we can also offer a whole host of activities within the building itself, so it will have a large hall, which various community groups, in addition to ourselves can use for various events and functions. It can be used as a large training space and indeed, we have large classrooms in the new building as well, which we can offer a variety of activities from."

To fund the ambitious project, Filey Sea Cadets have launched a major fundraising campaign.

Mr Hopkinson provided an update on the financial targets:

"We estimate that the project is going to cost approximately 3.5 million in total. That is a big figure that we need to reach.

We are very fortunate in that we do have a significant amount of funding already in place. So we estimate that approximately a third of the cost of the new building is already accounted for, but we will be looking for funding from other sources as well. We will be following up with various grant applications, reaching out to various foundations that may wish to help out, but we'll also be looking for support from our local community, from businesses and individuals that might want to support us on this venture."

Local politicians and residents have rallied behind the scheme, with 124 letters submitted in favour of the plans during the summer consultation.

Kevin Hollinrake MP said:

"I am delighted that plans for a new headquarters for Filey Sea Cadets have been given the green light. I have been closely involved in supporting this project and helping to move plans forward, so it is fantastic to see this important milestone reached.

The new headquarters will be a tremendous asset for Filey, giving young people the opportunity to develop valuable skills, confidence and friendships. I look forward to continuing to support the project as it progresses and congratulate everyone who has worked so hard to get it to this stage."

The cadets themselves are also eager to contribute to the fundraising efforts over the coming months.

Mr Hopkinson added:

"All of the volunteers are excited, although of course there's a little bit of nervousness as well, and the kids that are very invested themselves in this project. They want to be as much involved as we are. So they are certainly thinking of their own activities that they can do to help us promote and fund-raise for this project and they've already come to us with a number of great ideas. So watch this space for what the kids might be doing over the next 18 months as well."

There are more details about Filey Sea Cadets at https://www.facebook.com/FileySeaCadets/