Plans to convert former Scarborough care home into flats deferred for second time over waste collection concerns

The authority's Planning and Development Committee decided at its meeting on Thursday August 4 to defer decision-making on the proposed conversion of a former care home at 5-6 Esplanade Gardens in Scarborough.

The deferral was due to a perceived lack of clarity regarding rubbish collection and confusion about the number of proposed bedrooms in the property.

There was also uncertainty as to whether some of the flats would be for residential or holiday use.

The committee originally decided to defer the decision at its meeting on July 7 as a result of concerns raised by councillors about rubbish disposal and collection, as well as the size and standards of the proposed accommodation.

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Jane Mortimer said: “There is a huge need for flats and starter homes, it is how we organise the collection and disposal of waste and sort that out.”

She added: “Can we put this on deferral again just to get back to the agent to see if there is any way they can manage another entry to the rear of the property, so residents can get rid of their own rubbish?”

Councillors had conducted a site visit the week before the most recent meeting to examine the outside of the property in person.

Though the issues regarding size and standards had been resolved by the applicant, Sure Start Property Solutions Ltd, councillors were still not happy with the proposed rubbish removal policy.

At the meeting, members also highlighted that the number of bedrooms in some of the proposed flats had been “misnumbered” on the application, with some one-bedroom properties labelled as having two bedrooms.

Additionally, it emerged during the meeting that if approved, the applicant was considering using some of the apartments as holiday lets although this was not mentioned in the application.

The major concern for councillors remained the collection of refuse from the property and potential litter ending up on the streets.

Despite an amended plan for bins at the property, those living above the ground floor would not have access to the bins at the rear of the site without walking to the end of the street.

Subsequently, the applicant had agreed to hire an external contractor to collect rubbish from the flats above but councillors were concerned about a lack of detail regarding collection times, practicality, and enforcement of the policy in the future.

Cllr Rich Maw said: “I need to understand how that might work. Does that mean we would be asking residents to put bin bags, full of washed tuna cans outside their doors for a number of days?”

A council officer said that “the applicant has not gone into specific details of how that would be arranged, simply to state that a contractor would be collecting waste on a regular basis”.

Some councillors suggested that the application should be rejected altogether due to the apparent combination of various issues, but after a discussion that lasted almost an hour, it was agreed that the decision would be deferred once again.

One of the council officers present at the meeting asked that members provide a comprehensive list of issues to be taken up with the applicant so that at the next meeting deferral would not be necessary again.

The next planning and development committee meeting is scheduled for September 8.