Whitby and Scarborough Christmas attractions win cash pledge from council

Senior councillors decided to allocate £129,000 to fund attractions in Whitby and Scarborough for the festive period.

Council leader Cllr Steve Siddons approved a grant of £40,000 towards the cost of an ice rink in Whitby – around £40% of its total cost.

The money will come from funds allocated by Anglo American to promote the town as part of the planning permission for its Woodsmith potash and polyhalite mine at Sneaton.

The ice rink will be part of a Christmas festival put together by the newly formed Welcome To Whitby (WTW), a community based company that was established to help Whitby and all the local businesses bounce back after the effects of the pandemic.

The real ice rink will be under the cover of a marquee on Endeavour Wharf, in the centre of Whitby for around six weeks from the middle of November to the end of December.

It is hoped that the rink will attract between 6,000 and 10,000 visitors.

The council’s cabinet member for Quality of Life, Cllr Jim Grieve, has also rubber-stamped a new £89,000 contract to provide Christmas lights in Scarborough town for the next three years.

Following a tendering process carried out by the authority, Blachere Illuminations has been chosen to provide the lights in the town centre and in Ramshill Road.