Yorkshire’s first and most famous seaside resort is ditching its faded togs for an altogether fancier look, as Chris Titley discovered



They say Scarborough will soon be back to its glorious best. And that is quite a best.

‘If you think about it, Scarborough was the first seaside resort,’ says Tom Pindar. ‘A century and a half ago it was the place to be if you were anybody in the land – it was the place where the Oscar winners of the day would want to go.’

It’s hard to imagine Jennifer Hudson or Forest Whitaker booking a week in a Scarborough B&B this summer (although we can see Helen Mirren regally riding a donkey along the sands).

But look at the vision for a resort reborn and you can imagine the great and the glamorous flocking back. The Scarborough of the future is an exciting place to be. It would become known as ‘Edinburgh by the Sea’ – a place boasting ‘year round festivals, performances, installations and exhibitions, focused around the Stephen Joseph Theatre, an enlarged and rejuvenated Spa and Futurist Theatre, the Crescent Cultural Quarter and a series of smaller venues’.

More than that, it would bristle with bars and restaurants, better facilities for surfers and an improved Spa. Scarborough’s heritage would be celebrated with fishing and medieval quarters and more would be made of the historical icons connected to the town – from Henry II and Oliver Cromwell to literary families like the Brontës.

What else? New cutting edge industries, integrated transport, the population boosted by 1,000 a year and redevelopment on a scale not seen before.

That, at least, is the 20-year blueprint. It has been put together after Scarborough was named one of Britain’s ‘Renaissance Towns’ five years ago.

When this was announced, Tom Pindar, president of Scarborough’s Pindar print and online communications company, understood that some people dismissed this as another ‘“governmental warm wet words” talking shop’.

But it has proved to be much more than that – a real boost to the town’s image and self-belief.

‘It had had about 40 years of quietly going off the boil, losing its confidence, losing its self-respect. This is the most wonderful thing that’s happened to Scarborough in a hundred years,’ Tom said.

‘The mood of the town is much more upbeat, and the interest from the bankers and property people shows they are realising that, and seeing Scarborough as a place on the up.’

Tom has chaired Scarborough’s Renaissance Town Team since the project began five years ago and is about to hand over the reins. But not before the weekend of May 11-12, when the resort will celebrate the project’s fifth anniversary.

What’s to show for it? Work to revamp the Rotunda Museum as a centre of geology is underway; the main contractor for Scarborough Business Park should have been appointed by the time we go to press; plans to redevelop both the Spa and the harbour has started.

‘You almost shock yourself and think, “crikey Moses! Have we actually done all this in five years?”’ says Tom. ‘And the answer is, yes we have.’

John Popplewell has noticed Scarborough’s renewed optimism. ‘I know people who have caravans at Primrose Valley,’ he says. ‘In summer they’re booked out – at £800 to £900 a week sometimes. It still must be very popular.

‘On the surfing side of things, people are coming up from Cornwall and down from Scotland to be here.’

It was the surf that brought John to Scarborough. He was hooked the first time he rode the waves aged 14. Now 27, he has left his home city of York to move to the town and he co-owns specialist shop Bay Surf on St Nicholas Cliff with Carl Walsh.

What is the appeal of surfing? ‘It takes over your life,’ John says. ‘You have either got it in you or you haven’t. If you have you never look back.’

Surfing is not so much a sport as a community. ‘There’s such companionship and friendliness. Everybody who does it properly all year – whether it’s January or August – there’s a mutual respect.

‘Whether you have met somebody ten times or never before you can sit down and chat and share experiences.’

Advances in technology mean that modern surfboards are ‘leaps and bounds’ ahead of where they were a few years ago. And the sea’s improved too: ‘The water’s a lot cleaner these days. Scarborough does a lot better in the beach awards.’

If you fancy catching a few waves, John will kit you out, hiring out wetsuits and boards by the hour, day or week. And after a day mastering the sea, how about a night in the casino?

‘The atmosphere is electric,’ says Claire Taylor, business development manager at the £7 million Opera House Casino on St Thomas Street.

‘It is an entertainment venue not just a casino. We have themed nights and draws, such as the holiday draw on Wednesday when we give away six sets of tickets to Las Vegas.’

The venue boasts American roulette, blackjack, and three card poker, as well as restaurants and bars. It created more than 100 jobs and, says Claire, it is part of a booming nightlife.

‘A night out in Scarborough is now probably the best it has ever been, with more places to try, trendier bars and our venue is open until 6am – so you'll never be stuck for anywhere to go.’



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Books for the beach

Award-winning crime writer Val McDermid is one of a host of famous names taking part in Scarborough’s first literature festival in April.

The Long Weekend runs from April 20-22 and other authors appearing include Maggie O’Farrell, Wendy Holden, Stella Duffy and Katie Fforde.

And wine writer Malcolm Gluck will present a few bottles to accompany a mouth-watering food demonstration from Giorgio Alessio, award-winning chef of the Lanterna Restaurant.

There are many more events during the weekend, and in the week running up to the festival. How did the organisers bag so many literary talents?

‘We wrote a lot of letters telling people what it’s about, and we have visited other festivals where we pounced on authors and asked if they would take part,’ explained Sandra Turner, principal officer of the Scarborough Library and Information Centre.