A UK seaside resort with a stunning castle and Tudor streets is to officially close its shopping centre for a major revamp ahead of a £20m makeover.
The North Yorkshire town, once dubbed a “social mobility coldspot”, is hoping to reclaim its place as a “vibrant destination”.
An artist’s impression of the new Odeon cinema in Scarborough on the Brunswick Centre siteVISIT SCARBOROUGH
It was announced this week that Scarborough’s Brunswick Centre will officially close on September 17, with redevelopment work beginning in the autumn.
The site was bought by a developer in 2021 after a decline in footfall.
Plans for its transformation include building an Odeon cinema and new food court at the site.
The revamp of the town centre site is central to wider plans to regenerate Scarborough, which is affectionately known to locals as Scarbados.
A spokesperson for Scarborough Group International (SGI), which owns the Brunswick Centre, said: “This is about more than buildings.
“It’s about reimagining the heart of the town and creating a place where people want to spend time.”
The announcement of the closure comes just months after North Yorkshire Council revealed £19.5m had been allocated to Scarborough as part of the government’s Plan for Neighbourhoods scheme.
The Brunswick shopping centre in Scarborough has suffered a decline in footfall over the years
The authority said it had previously devised a “10-year vision document” following public consultation, which named improving the town centre and bus services as priorities.
The plans for Brunswick Centre were officially approved in 2023, with the cinema expected to take up to 29,060 sq ft (2,700 sq m) of the Brunswick’s almost 150,690 sq ft (14,000 sq m) of space.
Britney Spears performs at Scarborough Open Air Theatre for her Piece Of Me tour in 2018WENN.COM
Mark Jackson, project lead for SGI, said: “The closure of Brunswick is a major step forward, not just for the project, but for the wider regeneration of Scarborough.
“While change can be disruptive in the short term, this marks the start of a much-needed transformation that will help the town centre match the strength of its visitor appeal.”
The seaside town attracted more than 23 million visits a year and “outperforms major cities in dwell time and year-round tourism”, Mr Jackson added.
As well as the cinema, the scheme is expected to see the redevelopment of the interior and exterior of the building, a multi-storey car park, refurbished shop fronts along Westborough and the opening of the facade with large glass panels to allow in more natural light.
A North Yorkshire Council spokesperson said the project could help “uplift the whole area”.
They added: “It’s very obvious when you visit Scarborough, particularly that part of the town, what a key role this building could hold in the revitalisation of this part of Scarborough.”
While the locals call it Scarbados, the Queen of the Coast – it has an ancient castle, spectacular cliffs, Tudor streets and two sandy beaches – there is a downside to living in Scarborough.
There is a natural beauty to Scarborough, which boasts two sandy beachesAlamy
In 2017, the Office for National Statistics reported the town had the lowest average income in Britain while it has also been described as being a personal bankruptcy hotspot and a social mobility coldspot.
But in recent years the town has been fighting back.
In April it was named as one of Britain’s best seaside towns by Conde Nasté Traveller while there has been something of a cultural renaissance too with the success of the 6,000-capacity Open Air Theatre.
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds headline Scarborough Open Air Theatre in 2016Alamy
The theatre was reopened by the Queen in 2010 and now claims to be Europe’s largest amphitheatre “since antiquity”.
Each year since its renovation it has attracted bigger names to its stage, which sits in the middle of a lake next to England’s bracing east coast.
Promoters Cuffe and Taylor (C&T) book the acts for the council-owned venue and secured the services of Britney Spears in 2018 and Noel Gallagher‘s High Flying Birds twice: in 2016 and 2018.
C&T’s Peter Taylor reportedly discovered that one of Spears’s representatives is originally from Leeds, and liked the idea of bringing the American superstar to the Yorkshire seaside.
This summer’s headliners include The Corrs, Gary Barlow, Pendulum, Shed Seven and Judas Priest, whose frontman Rob Halford paid tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne at their show in the theatre on July 23.
Why is Scarborough so popular with tourists?
As the UK’s oldest holiday resort, Scarborough is still impressing guests to this day, with its world class accommodation options and stunning stretches of shoreline.
The Yorkshire town first became a popular spot for staycationers almost 400 years ago, in the mid 1600s.
And it’s still held in very high esteem now, with only nearby Whitby beating it to the top of a list of the most popular UK holiday destinations back in 2022.
One of the reasons Scarborough attracts visitors in the numbers that it does is because of its long stretches of sandy beach.
According to Visit Scarborough, the town has some of “the best beaches in the country” which includes the Blue Flag North Bay Beach.
It’s favoured by “bathers, families, surfers and a variety of water sports enthusiasts” accord to the Beach Guide, who are also fond of the ruins of 11th century Scarborough Castle, which they say “dominates” the beach’s backdrop.
The castle’s ruins are cared for by English Heritage and visitors can take in the spectacular views out to sea from on top of the hill, surrounded by its remaining turrets towers.
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