Meet the team tasked with regenerating Scarborough's town centre

The team of seven professionals, recruited from Scarborough’s business, cultural and voluntary services sectors, will be tasked with working with the council and its partners to lead on and deliver the Scarborough Town Centre Strategy.

Leading the team will be Sue Anderson Brown, Manager of the Brunswick Centre, alongside Richard Grunwell, of Scarborough Business Ambassadors, who will act as the

team’s Vice Chair.

The rest of the team is made up of five Town Champions: James Goodall, Director of Goodall Group Ltd, investor and developer of commercial and residential property in Scarborough; Martin Froggett, representing the voluntary services sector, business strategist Marcus Richard-Thrall; Caroline Routh, Chief Executive Officer of Stephen Joseph Theatre and David Warner, advisor on social change and local cultural sector representative.

As set out in the strategy, the team will focus on making the town a mixed use environment, creating an inviting public realm everyone can be proud of, developing a university town, encouraging a more diverse evening economy, introducing SMART town centre infrastructure, establishing a collaborative and supportive town centre community and building identity, image and brand.

Team members were recruited following engagement events before and after the launch of the strategy. A call out for applicants was made at the previous event in June and was promoted online and via the media.

Specialist advisors from Scarborough Jobmatch and Local Enterprise Partnership assisted with recruitment.

Cllr Liz Colling, Scarborough Borough Council Cabinet Member for Economy, Communities and Commercial said: “We’re confident that the team’s broad range of valuable skills and experience across the private, voluntary and creative sectors will give it the ability to successfully collaborate and engage with key partners and the community to drive the strategy and action plan forward.

"We’re all looking forward to getting started on our plans to create a town centre that continues to thrive and most importantly is sustainable for the future.”

Sue Anderson Brown, Chair of the Scarborough Town Centre Strategy Team said: “I am delighted to have been appointed as Chair and be able to play a pivotal role to ensure the delivery of Scarborough's Town Centre Strategy, building the town as a vibrant, mixed use centre that benefits stakeholders, investors and the wider community.”

While the team’s work will primarily be about the town centre, the strategy sets out the importance of links to the other established and emerging areas of the town such as the cultural quarter, seafront and harbour.

Projects and initiatives aligned to the Town Centre Strategy that are already underway or being progressed, include the Scarborough Harbour Strategy, redevelopment of the old Argos building on Newborough into accommodation for students, increasing the number of events in the town centre, tackling anti-social behaviour and rough sleeping and working with landlords and tenants to encourage and support the change of use of tired or underused buildings.