Council bosses will meet to decide on long-term plan for Scarborough Athletic pitch

The Executive Committee of North Yorkshire Council will hold a meeting in Scarborough to decide on the long-term future of the community football pitch at Scarborough Sports Village, which could cost the authority £3.2m.

NYC had been planning to replace the surface with an upgraded version at the end of the current season but a survey had identified “serious structural issues, including a defective drainage system installed when the facility was first constructed”.

The meeting, which is open to members of the public, will be held at Scarborough Town Hall on Tuesday, June 17 at 11am.

North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director of community development, Nic Harne, said: “A lot of detailed work has been ongoing to present a potential pathway ahead, and a range of remedial options will now be presented to the council’s executive next week.

“We are continuing to carry out positive discussions with the contractors who were originally involved, as well as with users of the pitch and other agencies.”

The pitch development agreement was with Wrenbridge, sub-contracted to Wilmott Dixon and other parties and the contract with Wilmott Dixon has a limitation period of 12 years (from September 2015) and various collateral warranties.

The proposed repair works would see a higher quality ‘Fifa Pro’ pitch installed which is expected to take up to 10 months without additional financial awards.

Improvements to the pitch quality would allow Scarborough Athletic Football Club to continue to play at its current level but would mean less community use at around 20 hours compared to more than 40 previously.

Various options are up for discussion, including doing nothing, full excavation and reinstatement which could cost almost £4m, building a new facility on an alternative site, and minimal excavation and repairs.

However, the “recommended and preferred option” is a technical solution is the full repair of drainage problems “to remedy the defects and then to resurface the pitch at the current location”.

NYC has said it will continue conversations with the contractors involved, and while the initial response was positive, “all appropriate legal remedies” will be pursued in the meantime.

The authority has received a petition calling for the football pitch to be repaired, which has more than 3,300 signatures.

While the pitch is unavailable, Scarborough Athletic has agreed to play its home fixtures at Bridlington Town’s ground during the 2025/26 season.

The temporary ground share agreement has been approved by both the National League and the Northern Premier League.