Residents and councillors are questioning North Yorkshire Council's financial support and spending choices, including controversial AI artwork, for Scarborough's 400th-anniversary celebrations.
The way council funds have been used to support Scarborough’s 400th anniversary celebrations has been questioned by residents and councillors.
With less than half of the year left, North Yorkshire Council is facing increasing scrutiny over the level of support it has allocated to promoting and celebrating 400 years of England’s original seaside resort.
In an update to elected members, council bosses said they had spent at least £156,000 as of May this year on supporting the quatercentenary celebrations and activities.
Tourism in Scarborough generates nearly £580 million annually, contributing significantly to the wider, more than £4 billion North Yorkshire visitor economy.
The milestone marks four centuries since the discovery of mineral-rich waters in 1626 in Scarborough, which transformed the Yorkshire resort into a spa town.
Cllr Mark Crane, executive member for open to business, said:
“We have invested a lot of officer time and we have invested some significant sums of money.”
Of the overall spend, £100,000 was secured from the Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund for a sculpture commission.
The authority also received £30,000 from Arts Council England to support a local arts group.
Cllr Crane also said that Visit North Yorkshire (VNY) had committed £23,000 to Scarborough 400 events, which represented almost 15 per cent of its annual events budget.
VNY had also allocated £3,000 in marketing budget for radio and online advertising as well as partnerships with local content creators.
It comes as dozens of artists and residents in Scarborough said they were “deeply disappointed” by the council’s decision to use artificial intelligence (AI) to create the designs on a Giant Deckchair Trail as part of the celebration.
The cost of the deckchair trail is not currently known.
Visit NY has also created an S400 events page on its website https://visitnorthyorkshire.com/s400.
Cllr Crane said:
“This is in addition to a wide range of community-led workshops, talks, exhibitions and performances, including the Sunday Best Parade and a number of other events that are in development.
“Scarborough 400 represents a significant moment for the town — we recognise this and it is right that we maximise its impact by working collaboratively with community groups, cultural organisations, businesses and interested individuals to create a varied, diverse and exciting programme that reflects the pride people have in the town and its history.”
He added:
“In practice, the council has provided considerable financial and strategic support to the Scarborough 400 celebrations.”
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