Filey Road sports centre: Scarborough Council 'considering options' after sporting facilities and housing plans are withdrawn

Scarborough Council says it is "considering options" for the former Filey Road sports centre, after an ambitious scheme for sporting facilities and housing in the area appears to have collapsed.
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In 2017, Scarborough Council, independent school Scarborough College and property developer Broadland Properties Ltd announced a collaboration for new sporting facilities in the Filey Road area of the town, including an international competition standard athletics track and new tennis courts and bowling facilities, plus around 50 new homes on the sports centre site.

But Broadland has now withdrawn the separate planning applications that made up the scheme, sending the plans back to the drawing board.

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Reacting to the news, a Scarborough Council spokesman said: “We note the application for planning permission for the Filey Road former sports centre site has been withdrawn.

Filey Road sports centre, pictured in 2012Filey Road sports centre, pictured in 2012
Filey Road sports centre, pictured in 2012

“We are considering options for taking the site forward for development. Any option taken forward would still be subject to planning regulations.”

The 2017 plans envisaged an international competition standard athletics track on the former Bramcote School playing fields to the south of the town centre, as well as six state-of-the-art tennis courts and bowling facilities nearby, on land between Deepdale Avenue and College Lane.

The scheme would have replaced the facilities that were lost when the Filey Road Sports Centre closed, the site of which would have been developed by Broadland Properties to create approximately 50 new homes and apartments.

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Richard Guthrie, director of Broadland Properties Ltd, a family company run by millionaire John Guthrie, said the planning application had simply “run into the ground” though he hoped that the athletics facilities could still be salvaged.

See HERE for Richard Guthrie's comments, and those of Cllr Derek Bastiman, the then council leader, in 2017.

Broadland Properties was the council's preferred bidder to redevelop the sports centre site for "quality, luxury housing" but in 2017 the company also announced its intention to develop facilities for athletics and tennis.

At the time, Richard Guthrie said: "This project is going to roll out a housing development, the like of which the town has not seen in a generation or more. It is going to bring back the much needed and much missed suitable tennis facilities to the heart of the town and it's going to add to the town's growing sports and leisure associated opportunities, with the development of an IAAF accredited oval 400 metre running track.

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"Regional, national and international records are going to be broken on Scarborough 'turf', by Scarborough heroes."

Prior to the 2017 plans the council had earmarked the South Cliff Bowls Club site for a car park for a pub-hotel and possibly mini-supermarket, plans that sparked outrage and a petition to protect the bowls club signed by hundreds.

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