Scarborough Mayor Reassured Over Town Hall Relocation Plans

The Mayor of Scarborough has expressed his relief after receiving assurances over the future of the town's historic civic building, following concerns it could be sold to developers.

Councillor Thomas Murray held an urgent meeting with the leader of North Yorkshire Council, Councillor Carl Les, and Chief Executive Richard Flinton to discuss the future of Scarborough Town Hall.

The discussions were prompted by the news that North Yorkshire Council is to purchase Resolution House, a modern office building situated on the A64 in Eastfield, for four and a half million pounds.

The proposed move could see the authority relocate hundreds of staff from the Grade Two listed Scarborough Town Hall to the new site. The initial announcement sparked fears among local representatives about the economic impact on the town centre and the potential loss of the historic building.

Councillor Murray explained the reasons behind the urgent talks.

He said:

Last week we found out about the announcement of the possible purchase of Resolution House and what seemed to be in what they posted anyway was the vacation and disposal of the town hall site. I was incredibly concerned about that given the town hall's history and it being the civic heart of Scarborough. So we sent an urgent letter to arrange an urgent meeting, which we held yesterday. It was really positive I felt. We sat down with Richard Flinton and Carl Les and I put across the concerns that the town council had about the Scarborough Town Hall. It's a beautiful, magnificent building that the Scarborough Corporation bought in 1865. The town hall chamber was built in 1903. There's so much history in this building and it would be a shame if the town hall was to be lost to a developer or something like that.

The potential relocation of staff to Resolution House had drawn sharp criticism from other local representatives, who highlighted the cultural and historical significance of Scarborough Town Hall.

North Yorkshire Council has stated that the overall condition of the Town Hall is poor, and refurbishing the entire site would require an investment of between fifteen million and nineteen million pounds. By moving to Resolution House, the council estimates it could reduce annual running costs by at least four hundred thousand pounds and avoid over twenty million pounds in maintenance liabilities across its property assets.

The council report also suggested that vacating the Town Hall could unlock it for a quality commercial leisure development.

Following the meeting, Councillor Murray confirmed he was given assurances that the Town Hall will remain the home of Scarborough Town Council.

He said:

One of our concerns obviously was the town council is located in the town hall. So it did come as a bit of a shock last week when we read the words dispose and vacate. So in our conversations yesterday, it was quite constructive in the fact that they were quite clear that they would like us to remain in the town hall and that they're going to continue to carry out some maintenance to the town hall, the historic site, to keep us there and to try and keep the civic traditions of Scarborough alive. There are several examples, for example, in Skipton, where they had a town hall that was renovated through the help of the National Lottery Heritage Fund. So there are several avenues for North Yorkshire Council in cooperative working with the town council to explore to really support the historic town hall to ensure a proper future for the town hall that isn't a boutique hotel.

Despite the positive assurances regarding the building itself, Councillor Murray acknowledged that the movement of staff out of the town centre remains an issue for the local economy.

However, he welcomed the commitment that customer-facing services would be retained in a central location.

He said:

It is still a concern because staff will still be moving out to Resolution House. However, the customer service facing point, they did allay my concerns on that one and that will remain where it is for some time and then move into a town centre location. And some staff will move to Castle House, which is positive.

The executive committee will be asked to approve the purchase of Resolution House and grant in-principle approval for seven hundred and fifty thousand pounds to establish a new customer service point in the town centre.