Construction of Scarborough’s new ambulance station ‘paused’ as costs triple to £21m

The new facility on Woodlands Drive, next to Scarborough Hospital, was set to cost £7m but a “significant escalation” of costs to £21m has forced the ambulance trust to put the works on hold.

The Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust said it would “fully review the funding requirements”.

Councillors approved plans for the ambulance hub – which was set to act as a “cluster” for the maintenance and preparation of ambulances in Scarborough, Filey, Bridlington, Kirkbymoorside, and Whitby – in October 2022.

The purchase of the site was finalised last March but in November 2023, the Yorkshire Ambulance Trust decided to “pause” the project due to spiralling costs.

Members of the Scarborough and Whitby area constituency committee (ACC) will be presented with a report on the progress of the work on Friday March 22, following a site visit by members.

The building’s construction was set to use the latest methods and technologies and was designed to meet Net Zero carbon guidelines.

The new Scarborough station has been designed for 112 members of staff and would be operated by teams covering 24 hours a day, seven days a week to ensure that ambulance crews can access fully equipped, re-fuelled and re-stocked ambulances.

The ambulance service is currently split between two sites in Scarborough which are “no longer fit for purpose”.

The main site at Queen Margaret’s Road has around 60 members of staff working on the A&E operations service and 15 members of staff working in the patient transport service.

The current station at Scarborough is leased and was built in 1998 as “a standard industrial building with additional accommodation space upstairs”.

The ambulance service said it works closely with York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to “minimise long patient handover delays to ensure that those patients in the community receive and safe and responsive service”.

According to a report prepared for the upcoming ACC meeting, “this remains a priority for both organisations” and there is a senior executive meeting taking place in mid-February to discuss the issue.

The Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust has been contacted for further comment.