Station redevelopment due to get green light

Plans for a major station gateway redevelopment on the North Yorkshire coast are set to be given formal approval.

More than three years after plans were first submitted, an extensive redevelopment of Scarborough Station's public realm and drop-off areas is due to be given the green light by councillors.

The works, proposed by North Yorkshire Council, would see the Grade II-listed 19th Century station's forecourt upgraded with new public seating, a taxi rank, drop-off areas, a pedestrian plaza and changes to accessible parking.

The scheme will be discussed by the Scarborough and Whitby Area Planning Committee on 13 August at Scarborough Town Hall.

A major focus of the development is to improve pedestrian accessibility and sustainable transport options at the station and to encourage investment nearby.

The layout still affords "a strong degree of priority to vehicles, which remain a dominant feature within the forecourt", planning documents state.

"The re-purposing of the station's forecourt would create an attractive hard and soft landscaping scheme including greenery that gives the area an open and spacious character and would be a considerable improvement over the existing," they add.

Two accessible parking bays are set to be created to the west of the station building, with new paving extended in the area.

The northern taxi rank would be replaced by three accessible parking bays, and the southern part of the car park would provide four taxi spaces and two drop-off spaces.

The current mini roundabout at the front of the station building would be replaced by a vehicle turning area.

Some concerns about parking and vehicle access were raised by Scarborough Town Council, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The new proposals differ from what was approved in 2023, "whereby the entire forecourt of the station was to be pedestrianised".

"This proposal retains the taxi drop-off, turning area and disabled parking within the forecourt; albeit reconfigured to reduce the amount of highway," documents state.

Yorkshire Water objected to the plan as it said it "appears from the submitted site layout that buildings and structures will be sited over public water supply infrastructure".

Initial proposals for the first phase of the Station Gateway scheme were developed by Scarborough Council and submitted for planning approval in 2022, prior to the launch of North Yorkshire Council in April 2023.

Plans for the redevelopment are set to be funded within the £6.68m allocated by the Government's Local Regeneration Fund.

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