Eastfield community hub projects win £145,000 funding approval from Scarborough Council

The council’s cabinet member for inclusive growth, Cllr Liz Colling, approved the funding which will go towards the development of two sustainable voluntary and community sector-led community hubs.

The service level agreements for the funding have been agreed upon with Carers Plus Yorkshire which will receive £55,000 and More Than Books, a community-managed library which will get £90,000.

The funding, which was approved on Tuesday, February 14, will be distributed over two years and is aimed at “delivering a range of social wellbeing initiatives” in Eastfield.

More than books has said it will deliver a range of social activities for young people and families, including horticultural and outdoor activities “beyond the traditional library remit”.

Carers Plus Yorkshire will put the funding towards the development of a ‘food hub’ at the old café premises at 120 Westway for 27 months.

A report prepared by the council states that the investment would “help to establish the asset as a social hub providing a range of community activities revolving around cooking and food”.

The grants from Scarborough Council are to be funded by income that the authority received following the sale of 48 acres of land in Middle Deepdale, Eastfield for the purpose of housing development.

In February 2019 the authority’s cabinet approved the procurement and implementation of a regeneration ‘masterplan’ exercise with the local community and stakeholders, the delivery of which was overseen by a council steering group.

However, concerns have been raised about the progress of the council’s commitments in Eastfield.

In January, the Scarborough and Whitby Conservative Association stated: “Of the £1.2m allocated to regenerating Eastfield by the previous Conservative administration, as of October 2022 the Labour-led Scarborough Borough Council has spent a total of £137,000 or to put it plainly in over 75 per cent of the time allotted they have managed to deliver just 11 per cent of the funding promised.”

The council report states that the authority is helping to develop “a ‘CommonUnity Bases’ programme to support at least three community-managed facilities towards financial and operational sustainability”.

The report adds: “The Community Support Package provides a sum of £270,000 to support the development of this programme.”