Developers behind Brunswick’s cinema project ‘will help make Scarborough the primary entertainment centre on Yorkshire Coast’

Scarborough Group International, which owns the site, will now move ahead with its plans to create a leisure-led destination on the Yorkshire Coast, complete with activity-based businesses and a cinema.

“We’re very pleased to get planning permission,” said Mark Jackson, Group Development Director at SGI. “But I think the real thing I took a lot of comfort in was the comments that were made in the debate by the planning committee members … that was really encouraging.”

As a Scarborian himself, Mr Jackson said he “totally understands where scepticism of the plans comes from,” but in an effort to reassure residents, he said: “There are no guarantees of course, but it's the prime town centre site and we have had very, very strong and encouraging interest from cinemas and are in advanced discussions.”

He added: “It’s challenging because everywhere across the country is having trouble with high streets, but we’re beavering away in the background.

“We're very used to taking on the challenging and so we're confident we've structured it in the right way. We've come up with a pretty efficient [plan] as we're adapting an existing structure, so we can keep the costs to a manageable level.

“We know how to deal with the process to bring things forward and we have got a lot of experience in this sort of development.”

The car park on top of the Brunswick is set to be upgraded with an increase in the number of parking spaces, accessible parking and electric vehicle charging, but also creating larger spaces that are easier to access.

There is also the ambition to “incorporate some sensible drop-off and pick-up spaces” for visitors wishing to access the cinema.

Developers said there is a “good relationship” with borough council officers and officials from the new North Yorkshire Council, who will take the scheme forward from next month.

Mr Jackson told The Scarborough News that there is clear demand for a large cinema in the town in an area that is not well served by a multiplex and that it “was very popular” amongst cinema operators.

“When I was a kid, it was the video cassettes that ‘was going to kill cinema,’ it didn’t, because cinema reacted,” he said. “Even now with Netflix and streaming, people of every generation will always say ‘cinema is dead’ because the new thing’s in.

“But actually, that’s often not the case because the fundamental isn’t just about watching the film, it’s the experience that you have.”

Mr Jackson said there is a tendency for cinema operators these days to lean towards a more luxury offering where they may compromise on the number of overall seats to improve the quality of the experience.

This includes space for larger leather seats and recliners, leg room and armrests with an ambition of between 350 and 800 total auditorium seats in Scarborough, but a final decision will be made by the cinema operator.

“Scarborough needs to be the primary North Yorkshire coast entertainment centre, that was its role and that’s what it did well,” he said.

“When I look back at what Scarborough was in its ‘70s heyday some of those fundamentals still exist, there’s still that pull of the sea and it just needs to renew.

“The fundamentals didn’t die, it just needs to be refreshed every so often.”