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Developer Benchmark Leisure Funded by Royal Bank of Scotland 55-acre site 100 residential flats, with 10,000 sq ft of retail and leisure 304 holiday flats and houses 120 beach huts 60,000 sq ft indoor water park 147-bed hotel Pool with seating for 300 spectators 90,000 sq ft of dry leisure such as bingo, bowling, nightclub, restaurants and possible casino 30,000 sq ft sports and leisure centre |
It is a gloomy August midweek day but, despite the ever-present threat of rain, Scarborough is buzzing with people. The main shopping street is crowded, restaurants are busy and the beach, despite the temperature struggling to reach 20°C, has attracted a surprising number of holidaymakers. A dozen or so surfers are taking advantage of white crests.
Not quite what you would expect from a faded Victorian seaside spa resort. And not bad for a town that the council reckons has not received any inward investment for 30 years.
Buoyed up by funding from Yorkshire Forward and the EU, the council is determined to build on the town’s popularity. Money is being spent on sprucing up the waterfront area around the south bay and modernising the town’s conference facilities.
But this investment is tiny compared with what is planned at Scarborough Business Park (see panel) and the north bay.
For the latter, a 55-acre mixed-use scheme called The Sands is planned, which will include residential, holiday homes, wet and dry leisure facilities and other improvements.
Development consultant
The Royal Bank of Scotland is financing Benchmark Leisure’s proposals for the council-owned land. Benchmark’s development consultant, Gerry Stapleton, says the scheme will have an investment value of £120m.
Work on the first phase of development, which comprises 100 homes, begins in October, with completion expected in spring 2008. Already, 33% by value has been sold, including all the £450,000 penthouses.
The start on site cannot come soon enough for the people of Scarborough, who can be forgiven for being somewhat cynical about the development. After all, three decades of proposals have come to nothing.
Benchmark has been involved since 2003, and Stapleton, who was drawn to the area himself 30 years ago, insists that this time the development will happen.
Getting the residential development under way and sold, however, is not the biggest challenge the developer faces. Doug Kendall, project development manager at Scarborough council, says: “There is a vibrant market for flats, and prices have taken off.”
Holiday homes, however, are a different market, and one that is relatively untested in Scarborough. Neighbouring Whitby and Filey have some, but The Sands is on a different scale and, with its abundance of on-site facilities, it is an unusual scheme.
Stapleton describes it as “Center Parcs without the barbed wire”, as the scheme, although self-contained, is not intended to exist in isolation from the rest of the town.
“These holiday homes are a relatively new concept in that we are selling them, then letting them for the owner,” he says. “But it isn’t really a radical departure as there are a lot of people who own second homes in the area and who let them out through agencies. The real market is short breaks, and Center Parcs has done it very well.”
As Scarborough has road and train links to West Yorkshire, Stapleton believes this is where investors will come from. He says that finding operators for the site’s facilities is the real challenge.
He is lucky enough to have been approached by an enthusiast who wants to run the site’s miniature railway. The nightclub, restaurants, bingo hall, hotel and bowling alley are more serious propositions, however.
The Sands is also on the shortlist for a regional casino, something Stapleton says he would grab with both hands should the December decision go Benchmark’s way. However, such an approval would necessitate a major reworking of the masterplan.
With the residential element kicking off the scheme, there is an eagerness to keep up the momentum. Stapleton explains: “Once we start developing, it will be a continuous process, as it is in our interests to get it done quickly. If you are selling holiday homes on the back of there being a water park, then you need to have it ready.”
Getting to this stage has not been easy. The public wants change but, as is often the case, is wary of it. Some 80% of people consulted wanted something done, so Benchmark hopes they like what it is planning.
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Caddick Development and Scarborough council 83-acre greenfield site 684,000 sq ft of industrial 303,000 sq ft of offices, including 53,000 sq ft of starter units 11,000 sq ft retail 9,000 sq ft restaurants 20,000 sq ft hotel |
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In a town where the office market is described as “not established”, and rents languish at between £5 and £9 per sq ft, building 300,000 sq ft of space is either genius or business suicide. But that is exactly what developer Caddick is going to do on part of an 83-acre site earmarked for the expansion of Scarborough Business Park on the A64. Caddick, which has secured public-sector funding, also has outline planning for 680,000 sq ft of industrial space. It hopes to submit detailed plans in the autumn for the first speculative phase of 66,000 sq ft, once detailed planning has been secured for the infrastructure work. Caddick’s senior development surveyor Peter Holley says the exact mix of office and industrial space, the types of deal and the rate at which it will be developed will be led by the market. With much of the town’s office space either old or above shops, and no real new space to test the market, is the demand there? Iain Simpson of Simpson & Co, agent on the scheme, says: “The council introduced a restriction on parking about two years ago, and a lot of the town’s occupiers have become frustrated. We are hopeful that there will be some initial demand and confidence in the scheme will then grow.” Robert Taylor of Savills’ York offices believes the town needs some development. “If it is freehold space, it will be fantastic, but leasehold will struggle. The town certainly needs investment.” With no recent deals for new space to set the rents, Simpson says these will be driven by development costs and specifications. “Rents will potentially start at £12 per sq ft,” Because of the amount of space proposed, businesses new to Scarborough will have to move to the scheme it if is to succeed. But the park-and-ride schemes on the outskirts of the town hint at the traffic problems that plague it so a leap of faith will be needed if new companies are to move in. Ray Williamson, head of regeneration services at Scarborough council, admits it is going to be a challenge. “Scarborough has an image problem dominated by the fact that it is a seaside resort,” he says. “Its diversification isn’t recognised. The scheme is about getting the town recognised as a business location.” The industrial market is slightly more robust than offices, with rents a respectable £4.75-£6.50 per sq ft. Taylor says: “There is a certainly a market and it isn’t bad.” Everyone agrees that Scarborough needs investment and, now it is getting it, it is time for the market to respond. |
