Scarborough and Whitby set to benefit from £37.3m Towns Fund investment plan

The council's Cabinet will be asked to approve business cases for all ten projects at its meeting on Tuesday February 15 before they are submitted to the government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) for consideration.

The projects cover key themes such as skills and enterprise, cultural activities, the environment, connectivity, well-being and sustainability.

They are designed to deliver better outcomes for residents and businesses by making town centres more vibrant and alive while building on the borough's cultural heritage.

Considerable attention has been given to emerging green technologies and environmentally friendly projects.

There is also a strong focus on access to new skills and training that will help communities to thrive.

The ten projects are:

Scarborough

• Fablab Plus

• Scarborough Fair

• Scarborough Harbour West Pier regeneration

• Scarborough local cycling and walking infrastructure (Cinder Track improvements)

• Scarborough nature tourism (Wild Eye)

• Scarborough Station Gateway

Whitby

• Broomfields Farm net zero living

• Whitby old town hall and marketplace

• Pedestrianisation of Whitby swing bridge and harbour side public realm improvements

• Whitby Maritime Training Hub

In March 2021 the government announced that Scarborough’s bid for £20.2m and Whitby’s bid for £17.1m from the Towns Fund had been successful.

While the funding is committed, a business case for each project has to developed, approved by Cabinet and submitted to the DLUHC to ensure it meets the Towns Fund criteria before cash can be released.

Cabinet has previously approved business cases for improvements at Scarborough Cricket Club, new wayfinding signs in Whitby and projects at the Green Construction Skills Village and Whitby’s Eastside Community Hub. The cricket club project has been approved and the others are now with government for consideration.

Alongside these four projects, the additional ten projects will bring total investment in Scarborough and Whitby to £37.3m.

Cabinet’s decision on February 15 is to agree to submit the business cases to the DLUHC for funding to be released.

Once the projects have gained DLUHC approval they will be subject to further consultation and the statutory planning process before being given the final go-ahead.

Cllr Liz Colling, Scarborough Borough Council cabinet member for inclusive growth, said: "We're delighted to be able to bring forward business cases for these ten projects.

"They will help us to unlock an investment of more than £35m in Scarborough and Whitby as we look to continue towards our goal of building a better borough.

"The business cases are the beginning not the end of the process.

"They will pave the way to allow us to unlock the funding from government but there will be much more work and consultation on all of the schemes before any final decisions are taken.

"This significant and exciting investment has only been made possible by close co-operation and collaboration between ourselves, our partners, the Town Deal boards for Scarborough and Whitby, local businesses and the community.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make real, lasting improvement to the lives and outcomes of our borough’s residents."