Permanent home for Scarborough Construction Skills Village

The Scarborough Construction Skills Village is now in its third year of operation and is taking in more learners and creating apprenticeships on the large Middle Deepdale housing site in Eastfield.

Run by Northern Regeneration CIC, Scarborough Borough Council and developers Kebbell Development Ltd and Keepmoat Homes, it allows students to build homes with professionals, helping to address a gap in the skilled worker market.

The latter two-parters are building more than 1,400 new homes as part of the development in Eastfield.

The skills village is currently run out of temporary buildings on the site but now is looking to move into some derelict farm buildings on High Eastfield Farm.

A planning application will go before Scarborough Council’s planning and development committee on Thursday (1st) for a change of use for the buildings and has been recommended for approval.

In support of the application, the applicant, which is Scarborough Council, submitted a statement outlining the successes of the skills village.

It said: “Scarborough Construction Skills Village (SCSV) is now in its third year of operation and continues to grow its intake and expand its offering. The SCSV model is considered an exemplar of construction training and is being duplicated both regionally and nationally as an effective way of addressing the construction skills gap.

“In three years of operation, the SCSV has recruited 73 learners on to a study programme and worked with 76 college full-time learners.

“[It has also] created 60 apprenticeship/employment positions equating to a 40% conversion rate to date, delivered more than 3,000 hours of work experience, supported 10 pre-16 learners at least one day a week from the local schools and a further 38 young learners have attended for at least one day.”

As part of the application, the farm buildings will be made good and new doors and windows of contemporary design will be added to make the building secure and more energy-efficient.

The roofs of the traditional buildings, which are generally covered in tiles that are in poor condition, will be finished in a colour coated metal sheeting.