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Leaders of North Yorkshire Council have accepted £6.8m of funding from the Government as part of its Plan for Neighbourhoods scheme to support ‘left behind’ towns. At a meeting of NYC’s executive committee on Tuesday, November 4, local members welcomed the “positive news”. The first tranche of funding consists of £5.3m for capital projects and £1.5m for associated support and project management costs. The Scarborough Neighbourhood Board is responsible for developing the vision and direction for the ten-year ‘regeneration plan’, identifying community needs, and selecting the interventions to address those needs within the initial four-year investment plan. Speaking at the meeting, Coun Liz Colling, who represents the Falsgrave and Stepney division, said: “The responsibility for actual solutions to problems that Scarborough suffers will be made by the Neighbourhood Board, not North Yorkshire Council, and I’d like to stress that we’ve done an amazing amount of community engagement. “It’s the biggest community engagement we’ve ever done so we have a great guide as to what should be done. “It’s good news for Scarborough and our challenge will be to make it a good bang for our buck.” A public engagement programme reached more than 1,000 residents, and key themes were identified as ‘a town centre we’re proud of’, dealing with anti-social behaviour, better transport and road safety, opportunities for young people and families, housing, jobs, cohesion and health. North Yorkshire Council will be the accountable body for the fund and will be responsible for managing and monitoring the delivery of chosen interventions through the Plan for Neighbourhoods in partnership with the Scarborough Neighbourhood Board. Coun Janet Jefferson, who represents the Castle division, said: “The main thing is cohesion and bringing the community and all age groups together to discuss what they want to see happening in our town. “I look forward to being involved in it – it’s really good.” Coun Mark Crane, executive member for open to business, who also sits on the new Scarborough Neighbourhood Board, said: “The Government announced it would have a new policy for Levelling Up for certain towns and Scarborough’s the only one in North Yorkshire. “It means good news for Scarborough, as there are significant amounts of money coming in now. "The plan has to be done by the end of this month, and we’re on course for doing that.” “I’m sure there are many projects in Scarborough that will benefit from this money, almost £6.5m.” Following submission of the ten-year regeneration plan and initial four-year investment plan, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) will carry out a “light-touch assessment”. Currently, the first year’s payment is expected to be made in April 2026. The total amount of funding provided through the Plan for Neighbourhoods over the next ten years will be £19.5m and is split £14.9m capital and £4.6m revenue.
