Scarborough's Alpamare Waterpark Could Have New Owner by Autumn

North Yorkshire Council has appointed specialist leisure property consultants to market Scarborough's Alpamare waterpark and adjacent development plots as they seek a permanent custodian for the North Bay attraction.

North Yorkshire Council is seeking a new visionary buyer to take over the Alpamare waterpark and wellness centre in Scarborough.

The local authority has appointed specialist leisure property consultants Newmark and Stripe Leisure to market the opportunity, which includes the potential to acquire five adjacent development sites.

The move represents the next step in securing a permanent solution for the North Bay attraction, which has experienced a turbulent few years. The original developer, Benchmark Leisure Ltd, collapsed in late 2023, leaving an unpaid debt of approximately £7.8 million to the council.

Since July 2024, the site has been operated by Flamingo Land on a short-term lease that expires at the end of October 2026. Now, the council is hoping to secure a freehold sale that integrates the waterpark into a broader strategic master plan for the regeneration of Scarborough's North Bay.

The additional land parcels up for grabs include a 4.7-hectare plateau that was formerly used as an amusement park, as well as a gateway site that previously held planning consent for a cinema and restaurants.

Built in 2016, Alpamare features a large wave pool, a children's splash and play area, four significant waterslides, outdoor pools, and a modern wellness suite. The site benefits from extensive parking and proximity to other key Scarborough attractions, including the Open Air Theatre, Peasholm Park, and the Sealife Centre.

Gary Fielding is the corporate director of resources for North Yorkshire Council, who explained the local authority's approach to the sale.

Gary Fielding said:

"Alpamare is a well-established part of Scarborough's vibrant visitor economy and has the potential to drive much broader economic benefits. We are looking to secure a sustainable, long-term future for the venue and we recognise that to support this some bidders may propose incorporating one or more of the vacant plots within the North Bay area. We will listen to all interest and consider options carefully based on those criteria."

Richard Baldwin is a director at Stripe Leisure Consulting, who believes the unique nature of the site will attract significant interest.

Richard Baldwin said:

"It's difficult to gauge, but in my experience of selling unusual leisure assets, you get quite a lot of inquiries from a wide variety of interested parties and that may be local entrepreneurs, local property developers, leisure operators, regional leisure operators, national leisure operators and possibly global leisure operators."

Richard says the inclusion of the surrounding land parcels makes the proposition even more attractive to prospective buyers, something they will be marketing to potential buyers around the world.

"Yeah, we tried to cast a wide net and generally these sorts of assets when brought to the market do get quite a lot of coverage because they're just interesting. They're few and far between, they're unique, they're quite funky. They offer good opportunity for entrepreneurial operators to come in, possibly realign it to the market, and in this particular instance, to develop other facilities around it that hopefully will create a place, a bit of clustering, and reignite that hospitality offer, particularly in the North Bay of Scarborough."

Regarding the timeline for the sale, there is optimism that a deal could be reached by the time the current operational lease with Flamingo Land concludes in the autumn.

Richard Baldwin said:

"We hope that we will conclude the sale towards the end of September. Partly because that will coincide with the existing operator agreement, but it's really difficult to predict exactly what the time scale will be.

There may be elements of this that sell quicker. Particularly I'm thinking, obviously, of the water park itself because the parcels of land may be sold, subject to planning, etcetera.

But, essentially, I think the council would like to see this under offer and potentially concluded at the back end of the summer."

Richard thinks that the existing infrastructure of the waterpark offers great potential to benefit the wider Yorkshire Coast area.

"It's well-built and I think it needs that sort of entrepreneurial flare of somebody coming in and seeing the potential in it because there is really good potential in it and potential in that in those parcels of land to create something here that's that's really good for Scarborough, really good for the region."

For now, Alpamare continues to operate under its current agreement with Flamingo Land, while the council and its specialist agents work to secure a vibrant future for the North Bay.

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