Scarborough's Brunswick Centre faces crucial £7m funding vote at council meeting

Members of the Combined Authority’s Cabinet will meet in Scarborough on Friday, November 6, to consider funding proposals linked to the town’s newly designated Mayoral Development Zone.

One of the first projects earmarked for support is the redevelopment of the former Brunswick Centre into a mixed-use leisure, retail and hospitality destination.

The funding forms part of a wider public-sector package already approved in principle by North Yorkshire Council.

Last week, council leaders backed plans for £10.5m of grant funding and an £8m council loan to support the development, which would include a six-screen cinema, indoor leisure attraction, food-and-drink venues and retail units.

Under the proposals before the Combined Authority, an initial £1m grant would be released to support pre-construction work, including detailed design, demolition and a new planning application.

A further £6m would be ringfenced for construction, subject to a full business case being approved at a later date.

The redevelopment is being promoted as the first major project within Scarborough’s Mayoral Development Zone, which was created to attract investment and accelerate regeneration in the town.

A report states that the scheme could support 414 direct jobs, create a further 164 supply-chain jobs, generate around £10m of additional annual economic output and attract approximately 850,000 visits per year.

It also estimates annual spending associated with the development could reach £45m.

However, the report also highlights the financial risks associated with the project.

It states that the initial £1m grant could be irrecoverable if the scheme fails to progress beyond the pre-construction phase, although a range of due diligence and legal safeguards are proposed before funding can be released.

The Combined Authority said the Brunswick scheme was being brought forward because Scarborough continues to face “long-standing socio-economic challenges”, including high levels of deprivation, market failure within the town centre and a lack of commercial viability for large-scale redevelopment projects without public intervention.

The funding decision comes after the council confirmed that the previous planning permission for the Brunswick Centre redevelopment had lapsed and a new planning application will be required before construction can begin.

The proposed redevelopment forms part of the broader Station to Shore regeneration programme, which aims to strengthen links between Scarborough railway station, the town centre and the seafront while attracting new investment into the resort.

If approved, the Combined Authority’s contribution would form part of the wider £18.5m public-sector support package for the project.