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New Owners for Scarborough's Cask Inn Plan Reopening

Friday, 9 May 2025 17:09

By Anttoni James Numminen, Local Democracy Reporter

The new owners of Scarborough’s Cask Inn have said they ‘look forward to restoring it to its former glory’.

Merrydith Property Developments, which has bought the Cask Inn in Scarborough, has said that it is “looking forward to re-opening the Cask Inn within the coming weeks”.

It comes as the current tenants of the much-loved local venue, which was known for its musical and cultural events, announced that the pub would cease trading on Sunday, May 18th.

The property’s previous owners, who were part of Heineken UK, had originally put the property on the market with an asking price of around £350,000.

The sale had been put on hold following its listing as a community asset by North Yorkshire Council last February after locals set up a campaign for a community-owned pub.

The community ownership campaign had received support from the Plunkett Foundation, which supports “people in rural areas to set up and run successful businesses in community ownership” and a bid had been prepared for the Government’s Community Ownership Fund (COF).

But earlier this week, Andrea Allison, who co-runs the pub, said: 

“We had hoped to be coming back as tenants, but unfortunately our plans to continue building a community pub celebrating local music does not sit with plans [the new owners] have for the building.”

Craig Brown, a director of Merrydith Property Developments, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): 

“The sale of the building was on the terms of vacant possession, which we had no control over and Star Pubs therefore gave their current tenants notice to vacate the pub a few days ago.

“The purchase of the property has been made by Merrydith Property Developments, of which I am a director along with my business partners, Gary, Tom and Chris.”

Mr Brown said that although the pub had been “admirably cared for by the previous operators”, the building above had suffered from “years of neglect and is now in need of a significant investment”.

He added: 

“As Scarborough locals ourselves, we fully understand the importance of the pub to the community and its significance in Scarborough’s history.

“There have been some rumours that the pub will close permanently, but along with a new operator to be announced soon, we are looking forward to re-opening the Cask Inn within the coming weeks and continuing to provide a much-loved hub for the community.”

The Cask Inn has been a public house since the 1970s and caters for locals, holiday makers and has been the home of Scarborough Jazz Club for more than 17 years.

It is “widely acclaimed as a top venue for artists both from the UK and abroad,” its listing on the Asset of Community Value register states.

Ms Allison added that she had “taken on The Spa Pub on Victoria Road and we are planning to continue to build our community there”.

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