A plan to deliver ‘significant financial returns’ to the council by redeveloping Scarborough’s North Bay attractions will be soft-launched next month.
Sites including the former Atlantis Waterpark and Marvel’s theme park, the former Indoor Pool, the Northstead Gardens, and Alpamare waterpark, could be redeveloped to boost the local economy and deliver “significant financial returns” to North Yorkshire Council.
The authority’s executive is set to approve a ‘soft marketing testing exercise’ at its meeting on 4 February which is hoped could lead to “a wave of new investment”.
Several of the sites were previously included in a Scarborough Borough Council (SBC) development agreement dating back to 2002.
However, that agreement has since lapsed and NYC has “unencumbered freehold ownership of the sites”.
It comes almost two years after the former SBC approved its North Bay Masterplan as a “once in a generation” opportunity to regenerate the town’s North Bay.
The masterplan, which followed a public consultation, aimed to create “more than £100m of investment” through more visitors, private investment, and attractions.
In 2022, SBC also launched an ‘adrenaline sports strategy’ proposing an “inward capital investment” of £20m to create an “inland surfing centre” as well as investing £2m on a climbing, BMX, and skating centre, with a combined economic gain of up to £1.2m annually.
However, North Yorkshire Council’s new redevelopment plan makes no mention of the previous regeneration schemes.
Success ‘is of utmost importance’
According to the new proposal, NYC’s vacant sites provide an “ideal opportunity for securing development and growth within the Scarborough locality” and should be used to support “development that is complementary to these adjacent existing uses”.
The Alpamare waterpark, which is currently operated on a 12-month lease by Flamingo Land, was taken back into council ownership after its developer Benchmark Ltd went into administration in late 2023.
In addition to Alpamare and the vacant sites, the council owns the freehold interest of other “notable and pivotal sites” in the North Bay area, including the Miniature Railway, Open Air Theatre, and Peasholm Park.
Officers said that the “continued operation and success of these sites is deemed to be of the utmost importance”.
Last summer councillors approved a contentious planning application for a 2,100ft (650m) long zip wire experience in the North Bay despite concerns about its possible visual impact.
However, the organisation behind the zip wire proposal, Big Bang Promotions (BBP), has not commented on the progress of the plans since then.
A report by the authority states that the soft market testing exercise will be used to gauge “whether there might be developer interest, and additional benefits, in including a wider package of development sites when the council ultimately goes out to market to secure development partners”.
Under the plans for the market testing exercise, developers would be asked to provide a 1,000-word brief outlining the potential for the sites and whether they would be interested in taking on more than one location for redevelopment.
Cllr Liz Colling, the chair of the Scarborough and Whitby area committee, said: “This is set to be the first step in identifying potential developers for these sites which will hopefully lead to investment to benefit our local communities in the town.
“While the visitor economy is a huge part of Scarborough’s economy, we need to make sure that any development in the town is beneficial for residents too.
“This is about the future of Scarborough and potentially bringing new job opportunities and careers to the people who live here and in the surrounding area.”