Planning approved for women's refuge centre in Scarborough

The controversial proposals were approved by a committee yesterday

Author: Karen LiuPublished 10th Jun 2022
Last updated 10th Jun 2022

Controversial plans for a women's refuge centre in Scarborough have been approved.

Some residents living near Dane's Dyke in Scalby say they are worried about safety.

But the green light has been given for 10-units of accommodation for women who have suffered domestic abuse.

Subash Sharma, Chair of the planning committee at the Borough Council, said: "I think it was passed originally in 2014 but it was never implemented because the people that were going to build the facility wasn't able to pursue it, so it came back as a planning application.

"I think it's very important when you look at the data for the number of women who are murdered on a regular basis by their partners, that's the biggest incentive to have a facility. The important thing was to find somewhere appropriate.

"Wherever it goes it will be controversial and it will create fears in people's minds and I think the fears for this community were overhyped by people who just didn't want this kind of facility at home.

"It may never be built because we don't consider those factors. We are not concerned with the profitability and the feasibility of the site. We just apply planning laws so the fact that we passed it does not mean it will be built. We have nothing to do with any of those aspects.

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.