Scarborough Tidal Pool Plan Can be Viable

Sea swimmers hoping to bring a tidal swimming pool to Scarborough say the project can be financially viable.

A dedicated community group is pressing ahead with ambitious plans to create a new tidal pool in Scarborough, an envisioned free-to-use asset for the entire town.

North Yorkshire Council commissioned a feasibility study to look at locations and costs. That has suggested a site near Children's Corner in South Bay.

Scarborough Councillor Rich Maw, feels that the project can be made to work with some involvement from the council and some from the local community.

"There was a little scepticism when this first came to to committee and how much something like this might not only cost in capital to put on, but the ongoing fees to run it.

We've looked at that there are pots of money and there are other areas across the country that have managed to secure funding for such an idea as this.

And if the community itself can manage the ongoing costs to run it then really the council, will play a part in this, but it won't necessarily be providing revenue for it.

It might help at the beginning with raising capital for it and helping with funding and bids, but ultimately the revenue for it should be sustaining."

Securing the substantial upfront capital required for such a significant undertaking is now a primary challenge. The community group is actively investigating various avenues. Karen Chiverall from the Scarborough Sea Pool campaign they are now working on funding models for the project.

"We have done a bit of research already and have been in contact with similar sea pools viewed in Cornwall and Cellardyke up in Scotland. And they're been quite transparent about the costs and obviously there's a maintenance regime that you have to go through.

Bude reported last year around about the 20,000 pounds a year maintenance costs.

But for capital, we're exploring a range of funding streams that are open ranging from, sports England, swim England, lots of other kinds of outdoor active kind of funding. And that would be for the initial capital costs."

Additional specialised funds being explored for capital include the Architectural Heritage Fund, Levelling Up and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Environmental funding, Crowdfunding, Community Shares, and the Community Ownership Fund. 

Studio Octopi, appointed by North Yorkshire Council in January 2025 to undertake a feasibility study, has already conducted an "outline costing exercise". The next critical steps will involve pre-planning applications and eventually submission for planning permission, requiring a "Technical & Environmental Report" and a "commercial viability report that includes capital and operational costs".

A core tenet of the Scarborough tidal pool vision is that it will be "free to use" for everyone in the town. This means that long-term operational funding must be self-sustaining, the facility will rely "on donations and sponsorship and funding for it for the ongoing maintenance," Karen Chiverall stated.

Maintenance is a significant financial consideration. Research into similar facilities has informed their understanding, with the Bude Sea Pool in Cornwall reporting "around about the £20,000 a year maintenance costs". This figure "goes towards maintaining the concrete apron, terracing, balustrades, sluice and emptying the pool of sand, rocks and seaweed". The unpredictability of the UK's weather means "winter storms would restrict the use" of facilities, potentially impacting these costs. The emptying of sand and rocks "will need to be assessed annually". The pool is also "likely to require dredging every few years to maintain the depth".

The group is examining various operational models, often a combination of approaches, including management by a local authority, a leisure management company, or the community group itself. Potential avenues for generating ongoing income include memberships, use by schools for training, and the presence of amenities like a coffee van, or through hosting events.

Despite the financial hurdles, the project continues to gain momentum. Karen says that a core group of "about 10 or 12" interested individuals is driving the initiative and they are exploring the potential to create a community interest company to drive the project forwards.

"We're exploring that with a number of people. Now. We've got a kind of core group of, maybe it's about 10 or 12 of us. Interested, but we might start with an unincorporated community group to begin with so we can access some small setup funding and then step into a community interest company or a community benefit society.

Ultimately it will be an asset. It will be an asset for the whole town for everyone in Scarborough. We envisage it as all title sequels are up and down the country free to use. So relying on donations and sponsorship and funding for it. For the ongoing maintenance. "

Karen says they are now looking for support from local businesses to help with some of the materials needed for further consultation exercises.

"I think what we'd like to do and I'm exploring some grant funding for this, but local businesses are interested perhaps would like some large scale perhaps AO sized laminates of the designs that we can use at consultations.

And also we're interested in having the 3D model built of the in outline design. So again, we can take that to consultations so it's a very tactile thing for people to see and look at.

So that's the first shout out if any local businesses out there can do some 3D design and some big prints of some of the designs that be, that'd be great.

But as I said, we're applying for some small scale grant funding as well to help us with that. "

There is more information about the group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1093965631724724

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