Scarborough's town hall could be sold to a major leisure developer as part of plans by North Yorkshire Council.
Scarborough Town Hall would be “very attractive for a quality commercial leisure development”, according to North Yorkshire Council, which is considering a move of coastal staff to a new site by the A64.
The authority’s executive committee has been asked to approve the purchase of Resolution House from Anglo American, which was marketing the property with a guide price of £4.5 million.
Councillors have said they are concerned about the potential economic impacts of the proposed move on town centre businesses, as well as on staff and the electorate’s access to decision-makers.
However, a report for NYC’s executive committee states that “releasing the Scarborough Town Hall site in particular has the potential to generate substantial economic benefit”.
The report, which will be discussed at a meeting on Tuesday, March 17, states:
“The site sits adjacent to the former Futurist site, and site assembly in South Bay will create an extensive development opportunity which links the town centre with the shore.
“The site is a prime location and will have unrivalled views, making it very attractive for a quality commercial leisure development. Indeed, there has been historic interest in this area from major national and regional operators,”
Scarborough’s Futurist Theatre was controversially demolished in 2018 following a long fight by campaigners to save the 1920s venue.
The now-defunct Scarborough Borough Council decided to demolish the building at a cost of £4m with proposals for a new leisure development. However, the site has been primarily occupied by a temporary 32-metre-high Ferris wheel.
The report acknowledges that Scarborough town centre contains a “number of high-profile, underutilised sites, many of which have remained vacant for extended periods, including those within the council’s ownership that fall within the scope of this report”.
It adds: “There is a risk that the town hall site could similarly become underutilised for a prolonged period, which would be unacceptable and must be avoided.
According to the council’s high-level assessment, refurbishing the entire town hall site to a “reasonable standard” is estimated to require an investment of £15 million to £19 million.
Council officers said that it is “essential that this development complements the wider regeneration of Scarborough, and it is recommended that a masterplan is developed to ensure that the South Bay development and other strategic town centre sites work together to reposition Scarborough town centre, addressing vacancy rates, the quality of the leisure and family offer and providing much-needed community facilities”.
The report concludes that to prevent “further long-term underutilisation, there is a clear need to progress masterplanning and redevelopment proposals at pace and to begin identifying potential development partner(s)”.
It adds:
“It is therefore recommended that a provisional budget be made available to fund the costs associated with advancing these proposals, enabling redevelopment to be brought forward as quickly as possible.
“It is anticipated that the number of sites available for redevelopment within Scarborough, along with the inclusion of the town hall site, will provide sufficient scale to make the opportunity an attractive proposition for prospective development partners.”
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