Former youth club could be turned into a new Whitby town centre bar

Paolo Arceri has applied to Scarborough Council to transform the former Youth Shack building in New Quay Road into a venue for residents and visitors.

The youth club, which was home to the Youth Shack, has been vacant since January 2019 and is located above a public toilet.

Scarborough Council, which owns the building, had put the site out to tender with a proposed 10-year lease.

Mr Arceri, who runs Macy Brown’s cocktail bars in Middlesbrough and Guisborough, has now lodged a planning application to bring the building back into use.

His application states that he has agreed a lease agreement with the council for the proposed use as a bar subject to getting planning permission.

In his application, Mr Arceri proposes to run the bar from 10am until 1am from Monday to Sunday.

The new business will take on up to five full-time and three part-time employees.

As the bar would be located in the heart of Whitby’s Conservation Area the council’s planning officers would have to be convinced that any changes to the building would not spoil the look of the area.

The application concludes by saying: “The less than substantial harm upon the significance of the Conservation Area by the installation of the glazed balustrade/veranda, canopies and fenestration detailing would be offset by the positive contribution of the bar use will have in terms of economic viability and the re-occupation of a prominent commercial unit within the Whitby town centre.”

The plans are now out to public consultation.

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