Scarborough's Brunswick Centre Redevelopment Will Take Three Years To Deliver Even With £18.5m Public Funding

A multi-million-pound transformation of Scarborough's vacant Brunswick Centre into a major leisure destination will take until mid-2029 to open as complex funding and tenant agreements are negotiated ahead of building works.

A major redevelopment of Scarborough's Brunswick Centre will take three years to deliver, even if an £18.5 million public funding package is approved over the coming weeks.

The transformation of the vacant site into a six-screen multiplex cinema, family-focused leisure facility, and retail hub is expected to create over 400 direct jobs. North Yorkshire Council executives will meet on Tuesday to consider allocating an £8 million loan to the developer, Scarborough Group International, to kickstart the scheme.

The project relies on a complex series of relationships between developers, public bodies, and potential tenants. The total public sector funding package includes the council loan alongside a proposed £7 million grant from the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority and £3.5 million from the Scarborough Neighbourhood Board's Pride in Place programme.

In an interview with This is the Coast, North Yorkshire Council Deputy Leader, Councillor Mark Crane, explained the proposed funding breakdown.

"There will be 7 and 1/2 million pounds from the mayoral combined authority, 3 and 1/2 million from the neighbourhood board and the rest would be made up by a loan from the North Yorkshire Council.

So the first two would be grants, and let me be very clear right at the start that those decisions have not formally been made, so Scarborough neighbourhood board meet this Friday and the mayoral combined authority meet early in November, so we wait those decisions, we hear very positive messages back from both of those, I sit on both of those just to be clear, but we believe that money will be forthcoming, we will then put the loan amount in on top of those amounts about 8 million pounds, and with all that money put together then we would be in a position to take forward the new Brunswick centre which currently is called square one, and I will also be clear that without that public money, quite frankly, this scheme just would not stack up."

If approved, the council would contribute an initial £1 million that would be matched by funding from the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority and the Pride in Place programme overseen by the Scarborough Neighbourhood Board to create a total £3 million package for pre-development work.

The funding would help cover detailed design work, investigations into the existing structure, internal demolition of parts of the centre and the preparation of a new planning application.

Councillor Mark Crane said the high costs of renovating the site make public intervention essential.

"Without that public money, quite frankly, this scheme just would not stack up. So this is a regeneration scheme right in the middle of Scarborough, which will have impact for many years to come, I believe, in a positive way, but without the public money, then nobody would take this building on, I don't think because frankly, the costs of getting it up to scratch and to getting people in to start making it work would be far more than the amount that you would get in over any number of years.

It's one of those schemes that without public money, quite simply will not work."

Councillor Mark Crane added that it's not unusual for public funding to be required in major development projects, he thinks leaving the site vacant would be detrimental to the high street and dangerous for Scarborough's wider regeneration hopes.

"There's any number of public schemes on the go at the moment and at any time which would involve public money going into a private company to make something happen in order to regenerate an area.

So let's be clear, the centre of Scarborough could do with a shot in the arm. It could do with some regeneration. And I say that as somebody who goes to Scarborough on a regular basis and loves it, but there is the need for something to be done there and quite simply, at the moment this building is boarded up and looks something of an eyesore if I'm absolutely honest with you on the high street.

So if the public money doesn't go in, then I'm afraid that building will continue to sit there, look an eyesore on the high street, and the regeneration of Scarborough will more or less die a death.

But with this public money, we can do the building, we can make it work, and we can see people spending more time and more money in the centre of Scarborough, not only visitors, but obviously people who live in Scarborough themselves."

Outlining the complicated relationship between the developers and potential tenants, which include a big name cinema chain and major national retailer, Councillor Mark Crane detailed the safeguards that would be put in place to protect the public investment and ensure that the project delivers its aims..

"We would have a hold over them in that we would not be willing to release the money unless the scheme goes ahead in the way that it is presently envisioned. And I would add that we would only lend the money if they signed on the dotted line with a large cinema chain, and I'm not at liberty to say who it is, but they do have somebody very interested. And also with an anchor retailer, and again, not in a position to say who the anchor retailer is, but a name that everybody listening to your program would recognize, I'm sure, and they are ready, I think, to sign on the dotted line.

One of the reasons they haven't yet is because this finance needs to be in place. So it's a bit of a chicken and egg. Until the finance is in place, the cinema operator and the retailer would not be in a position to sign.

So once the finance is in place, then they will be in a position to get those companies to sign up and then we would make our loan across to Scarborough Group International."

Plans to redevelop the The Brunswick Centre have been talked about for several years, planning permission for an initial cinema scheme was obtained in 2023 but has since expired. The former shopping centre closed it's doors a year ago since when the centre has stood vacant and boarded up.

Councillor Mark Crane says even if funding for the project is approved in the next few weeks it would be 2029 before the new venue opens its doors to the public.

"If the finance goes ahead and those companies sign on the dotted line, then they would need to get planning permission next, which this council is responsible for.

So once they have got planning after the finance, then they would be in position next year, later next year to start the work.

I'm afraid that because of the amount of work that needs doing, because it's completely transformational on this building and this site, then the building would probably be open in about mid 2029.

We're three years away from that, which is a shame. I wish it was quicker, but because of the amount of work that needs to be done, it's going to take that long, I'm afraid."

Some readers of the This is the Coast Facebook page had expressed surprise that work on redeveloping the centre wasn't already underway following the closure last year, Councillor Crane confirmed that no work has taken place and said the previous plans had to be revised.

"No, it's not been underway. There was an extant planning permission on the building which would have seen a larger cinema. Um but that operator is no longer going to be involved in it, but there are interests from other operators of a cinema and the whole scheme is now working as a six screen cinema, a couple of large retail outlets and a significant food and beverage offer and I think the food and beverage offer will be both some national well-known companies, as well as the opportunity for some local people to open something that maybe is a little bit different.

But to be clear, that work has not yet started, no."

Councillor Mark Crane says the council has been working on other projects in the town centre but agrees that the Brunswick development is seen by many as the cornerstone of Scarborough's town centre regeneration plans.

"I think people are right to see it as a cornerstone, but in the meantime, we have been working on a scheme to bring some buildings in Scarborough, some retail offering in Scarborough back into use, and we have had some success in that.

So we are seeing some buildings coming back into use now and being reopened for retail purposes, but it will be 2029 before this one opens, which I think will be a catalyst for the centre of Scarborough."

Addressing concerns over previous public investments in the town, Councillor Crane contrasted the Brunswick plans with the failed Alpamare waterpark.

"Alpamare was a company with little or no track record. We are working with Scarborough Group International who have got a long track record of delivering large schemes and are financially very secure.

So I think it's very different and I know Alpamare did fail and it has caused some headaches for the new council. But we believe that this scheme is entirely different from that. Alpamare was on the outskirts it's a waterpark obviously, as people know. This is something that's right in the centre and is going to be I believe transformational for the centre of Scarborough and we will see significant number of people coming, spend money there and to be clear, this will obviously be a year-round offer with a cinema and the retail stores and the food whereas Alpamare was probably something that did very well in July and August and maybe struggled to wash its face the rest of the year."

The proposed redevelopment is expected to deliver significant economic benefits, including the creation of more than 400 direct jobs and about 160 jobs through the supply chain. The scheme is also forecast to generate up to £45 million of annual spending and attract an estimated 850,000 visits a year.

Official figures show that Scarborough sees a total of 3.9 million visits each year and the town’s tourism sector is worth £579.5 million to the local economy. 

Councillor Crane says the proposed development supports the council’s wider regeneration ambitions for Scarborough, and the former Brunswick Centre is seen as a key opportunity to bring new leisure, entertainment and retail uses into the town centre.

"We believe the footfall will be circa 850,000 visits per year and we believe that the gross spend at the site would be close to £45 million a year so significant amount of footfall and very significant amount of spend which can only boost the Scarborough economy and clearly create jobs for the young people who live there."

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