Banned car cruise in Scarborough: 'I guess our face just doesn't fit' says disillusioned Static Royals member - 'but we'll be back'

Ryan Linley, of the Static Royals club, has branded the decision to close roads on the town’s seafront on Sunday to stop drivers from arriving as an “absolute joke” but said it will not be the end of cruises to Scarborough.

The council and the police shut down Royal Albert Drive, Marine Drive and Albert Road in Scarborough’s North Bay to traffic to stop what they called an “unapproved car cruise”.

Mr Linley told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the cruises would continue despite the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) adopted in 2018 following problems with previous car events.

Marine Drive in Scarborough is closed as 'car cruise' is set to go ahead on Sunday evening

He said: “They didn’t just close the seafront, they closed Scarborough. It was an absolute joke.

“You think of all the resources the police and council must have spent on closing off those roads. I bet the council staff were on double time and I’m sure there were better things for the police to be doing.

“Contrast this with York Police which had a post on their Facebook page the other week welcoming people to a car cruise at Clifton Moor, then you move 30 miles up the road and the same police force is probably spending tens of thousands of pounds to stop events.”

Mr Linley said many of the cars went and parked at the nearby Alpamare waterpark while others made their way over to Hull.

He said that the actions of the police and the council meant that car culture was being lost in Scarborough.

He added: “It is very disheartening. We have raised thousands of pounds for charities over the years and all across the world, Scarborough is known for its car and racing scenes. It’s sad to think the next generation is going to grow up without that as someone has now decided they don’t like us.

“We have gone through the exact same process that the Goldwings go through but they are welcomed, and they [the council and police] shut us out. I guess our face just does not fit.

“We were told we needed to high-viz jackets, so we got high-viz jackets, we were told we needed marshals so we got some club members who wanted to do it but we need support.

“If somebody turns up and breaks the law I can’t arrest them. I can tell them to pack it in but I can’t drag them out of the car and take them away. It’s the same with the bins, we asked the council to park up one of their little bin lorries that we would fill up as the bins get overwhelmed but they said no.”

Mr Linley also said that the club had approached the council about using the vacant park and ride site in Seamer Road, which is now out of use in the winter.

He added: “We would have asked everyone who turned up to chip in a pound or two to cover the cost and people would have been happy to pay, all we needed was someone to go and take the padlock off the barrier for us but again we were told no.”

Car cruises to Scarborough seafront were a common sight in the town for many years but relations between the clubs and the police and Scarborough Council soured in 2017 after £50,000 worth of damage was caused to Royal Albert Drive following a Static Royals car event.

The then newly resurfaced road was left shredded with melted rubber stuck to the tarmac near the Oasis Cafe after a driver “burnt out” their tyres.

The club said the driver, who was later prosecuted, was not linked to the Static Royals in any way.