Plans drawn up to make Eastfield its own town

A new multi-million-pound strategic plan which would focus on the creation of a new "town" on the outskirts of Scarborough will be considered by councillors ahead of a predicted population boom in line with industrial growth.
Middle DeepdaleMiddle Deepdale
Middle Deepdale

Eastfield is home to the Yorkshire coast’s biggest housing development, Middle Deepdale, which is in its fourth year of construction and will eventually see about 1,350 new homes built.

To fund the ambitious scheme, which was aimed at regenerating the area, Scarborough Borough Council sold off land in 2015 to developers for Ł6.2m. The authority is set to receive payments from the windfall in stages over the next six years.

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With the first of a number of significant capital receipts due in December, the council wants to establish "clear strategic objectives, and appropriate principles and protocols" to ensure the cash is used effectively to regenerate the Eastfield area, according to a report that will go before the authority’s overview and scrutiny board this week.

And in line with the authority’s economic development policies and housing and investment strategies, as well as its corporate and local plans, it is hoped the blueprint will help to deliver its ambition of delivering key growth targets for the wider borough and help to provide an infrastructure for new industry, including the Sirius Minerals potash mine, near Whitby, and new offshore windfarm developments.

The council’s aims include achieving a population increase of 20,000 people, creating 10,000 new and replacement jobs, improvements in educational and vocational skills and the creation of improved transport connections to and from and within the borough.

The authority’s regeneration officer Alex Richards, who wrote the report that will go before councillors on Wednesday, said: "With significant housing growth potential, business space, education and training facilities, open space for leisure and recreation, retail facilities and its own local transport and rail connections, the Eastfield area is critical to delivering these objectives.

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"In strategic planning terms Eastfield essentially needs to be considered as a new town’ to the south of Scarborough."

Already within the area are established and emerging proposals for developments, including more than 5,000 new houses, the expansion of Scarborough Business Park to provide a series of new investment opportunities and growth of the Construction Skills Village, providing it with a permanent home.

Mr Richards said: "It is therefore incumbent on the council to ensure strategic focus and capital expenditure on regeneration activity in this area is linked to achieving these outputs."

To date, regeneration within the Eastfield area has been undertaken under various formats and often by a variety of disparate organisations.

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There are a number of action plans in existence, including the Eastfield Area Action Plan, Eastfield High Street Plan and the regeneration investments included within the Middle Deepdale scheme. In addition, there are separate schemes which are being driven by other agencies such as social housing providers as well as North Yorkshire County Council.

Mr Richards added: "The proposed approach aims to bring all of this work together in one overarching plan to ensure co-ordination of effort and monetary resource and to ensure the best outcomes for the area."