Plans for new nightclub on Scarborough's Aberdeen Walk are revealed

Frazer Jones of Decades Bar Ltd has applied to Scarborough Council for a premises licence to run the club out of 9 Aberdeen Walk, which was previously home to the Mansion nightclub.

Mr Jones, who operates his Decades brand out of a club in Tamworth told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he had been looking for a seaside town to expand into and was put onto Scarborough by a friend from the area.

He said: “This is a very prominent site and we managed to get a good deal with the landlords and the owner and we are going from there.

“One of the reasons we settled on Scarborough is that there isn’t really any sort of late nightlife happening at the minute. The premises [in Aberdeen Walk] has been shut now for more than a decade.

“We are spending a significant amount updating stuff that people won’t see such as the electrics and making the building compliant again.

“The interior being refurbished to allow us to do what we do and that is to offer a good, fun night out.”

Mr Jones said that the club would appeal to all ages but his target was the “25 to 35 plus” market.

He added: “The music we play is 80s/90s/00s party music, it’s not house or garage or anything like that, that’s not what we do.

“In Tamworth, you can see the whole club dancing to the Macarena at 1am for example. We say it’s like a wedding party every night.”

Under the plans, Decades Nightclub would be open until 4.15am Monday to Wednesday and then half an hour later on Thursday to Sundays.

Music will be played until 4am Monday to Wednesday and then until 4.30am at the rest of the week, with alcohol served at the same times, though Mr Jones said the club would be looking to open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the outset.

If granted permission, it would bring a nightclub back into Scarborough town centre, though Mr Jones admitted it is not so straightforward as the building is located in the town’s Cumulative Impact Zone, which makes it harder for new licences premises to open.

He added that the application was likely to require a hearing where he hoped to present the case that the club would be a good addition to Scarborough.

“We don’t want to attract trouble, that is not what we are about,” he said.

“We want people to have a fun night out.”

The building can hold more than 1,000 revellers but initially, just one floor with a capacity of around 300 will be in use as the upper floor requires significant work before it can be utilised.

Mr Jones added that it is hoped Decades could be open for Easter, depending on the licensing process.

The property was used as a club originally when Mansion opened its doors in 1966 as Scene One, making it one of the first modern discotheques in the UK.

Two years later Scene Two opened in the floor above and hosted gigs from acts including Status Quo, the Drifters, Mungo Jerry, the Troggs and Acker Bilk.

Mansion, along with Boleyns and Vivaz, all closed their doors in the 2000s as Scarborough’s nightclub scene was reduced to almost nothing, with just Bacchus in Ramshill still going strong.

The Decades licence application is now out to consultation until March 11.