Scarborough Council’s leader 'delighted' with Brunswick multiplex cinema plan to 'reverse town centre decline'

At the final meeting of the authority’s Planning and Development Committee – ahead of the council being abolished on April 1 – councillors unanimously approved the proposals, subject to conditions, on Thursday March 9.

Cllr Steve Siddons, leader of the council, said the cinema would be “a game-changer for Scarborough and is going to be a real benefit for the town”.

The plans received universal praise and support from councillors on the planning committee, who said it will make a declining building “come alive,” help to create a night-time economy and improve footfall in the town centre.

“I think it can only benefit that area of the town and hopefully improve footfall,” said Cllr Phil Trumper.

Scarborough Group International, which bought the site in 2021, will now move ahead with their plans to convert the Brunswick into a leisure-led destination, complete with national bar and restaurant chains, a refreshed retail offering and a cinema.

“I’m delighted and I think that it is the right decision at the right time,” said Cllr Steve Siddons. “We’ve suffered from a decline in retail and town centre activity and this is the thing that will bring that back, particularly the early evening economy which is something we’ve been very much lacking.”

The council’s leader has previously made it no secret of his long-held ambition for a cinema in the town centre, rather than North Bay.

In November 2019 he said he “always thought an out-of-town site is the wrong place for a cinema,” after developer Benchmark promised progress in North Bay.

Three iterations of plans by Benchmark for a cinema, restaurants and flats between 2015 and 2021 on the former Atlantis water park site ultimately came to nothing.

Cllr Siddons said: “I think that once businesses realise this is going to happen, then they will make plans accordingly, so I don’t think we will see a reduction in business activity in the town. I think people will start building up towards this.”

Reflecting on one of the council’s final decisions, he said: “I think it is interesting that it is one of the last decisions we make. I think we’re going out on a positive note here and long may it continue.”

Construction work is hoped to start later this year and be completed by Christmas 2024, opening in early 2025.