Scarborough Council approves plan for eight-storey town centre apartment building

Members of the council’s planning and development committee voted unanimously in favour of plans that will see the construction of an eight-storey residential building in Scarborough’s town centre.

Following completion of the planning application process which lasted over a year, the developer, Wright Investments, will build a block of 47 flats on 24 Vernon Road in Scarborough’s conservation area.

Since the application was originally made in October 2021, the proposal has been modified twice and there have been two full rounds of public consultation. Councillors also discussed the plans at a meeting of the planning committee on Thursday October 6.

Issues regarding affordable housing, highways, fire safety, and the development’s impact on neighbouring properties including, the Hole in the Wall pub and various listed buildings in the vicinity, were raised as matters of concern.

Local planning policy dictates that 10% of new dwellings must be “provided as affordable homes in this part of the borough” which would have meant the provision of five affordable homes in the development.

However, the Vernon Street development will not have any affordable homes as planning officers stated that locally active social landlords “do not tend to want to become involved in mixed tenure blocks, especially where the number of units to be provided is relatively small”.

Instead, it was agreed that the developer would make a financial contribution to affordable housing elsewhere.

A council report on the development states that “a financial contribution of £322,550 is required in lieu” but council officers said at the planning meeting on October 6 that the agreed sum is to be £280,720.

Councillors were also told that a mandatory fire safety plan for the building had not yet been received by the council. However, councillors decided to grant delegated authority to council officers to refuse the application if the fire safety plan was not received and approved.

Speaking of the development, Cllr Will Forbes said: “I think it is really good as it could potentially bring more footfall into the town centre.”

Cllr Forbes also commended the parking plan which will operate with a mechanical racking system, where one vehicle is stacked on top of another, but asked who would be responsible for repairs if there was a malfunction.

A council officer said that responsibility would be with the property’s management company.

Though members of the committee, who also conducted a site visit, voiced their support for the plans, some members of the public have raised objections regarding “the scale and design of the development” as well as concerns about “direct overlooking” of existing homes.

The applicant will be required to make a contribution of £12,200 towards NHS primary care services as well as a green space contribution of £46,800.

The plans were approved unanimously by members of the planning committee.