Go ahead for planned multi-million pound shopping centre redevelopment

Scarborough Borough Council’s Planning and Development Committee has voted unanimously in favour of granting planning permission for the multi-million pound redevelopment of the Brunswick shopping centre.

The plans put forward by the centre’s owner, property regeneration and placemaking specialist, Scarborough Group International (SGI), will see it transformed into a leisure-led destination anchored by a multi-screen cinema.

SGI’s proposals also include an array of daytime and evening facilities, including new food and drink outlets, and ancillary retail units, all delivered within the existing building envelope.

SGI purchased the 1990s-built shopping centre in September 2021.

It has been working with the council to help meet its strategic objective of Scarborough becoming the best performing coastal town centre in England by 2025 and the primary economic hub for retail, leisure, learning and living within the Yorkshire coast area.

Approximately 300 jobs will be created once the site is operational and further employment opportunities will be created during the construction stage.

The scheme will be funded by a mix of private and public sector investment.

Mark Jackson, group development director at SGI, said: “We are pleased to have secured the committee’s approval for this strategically important scheme, which very much supports the council’s priorities set out within its Town Investment Plan.

“In addition to providing a vibrant leisure and entertainment offering for the local community and tourists alike, it is hoped our redevelopment of the Brunswick will act as a springboard for wider investment and economic growth in Scarborough town centre.

“We will continue to work closely with the council, and the new North Yorkshire Council, to ensure the pace of delivery is sustained, with a view to announcing our preferred cinema operator in the coming months.”

Councillor Steve Siddons, leader of the council, said: “It has long-been an ambition of the council to bring a cinema to the centre of Scarborough.

“I am happy that the Planning and Development Committee has voted in favour of granting planning permission for the redevelopment of the Brunswick – including a new cinema.

“It means the centre will take on a new role at the heart of Scarborough town, bolstering the evening economy and creating new jobs.”

Works are due to start on site towards the end of the year and it is hoped the new centre will be open by summer 2025.