Scarborough MP speaks on what the town needs to make it better
Scarborough's MP has been talking about what the town needs to make it better.
Scarborough's MP has been talking about what the town needs to make it better.
Robert Goodwill says the council should look at the high street and make changes.
He said:
"The council does need to listen to what local people are saying. There are a lot of proprieties around our area; for example just cleaning up the town a little bit, there's a lot of rubbish around the place and there's the issue of seagull mess.
"I get a lot of constituents coming to me complaining that if we want to make Scarborough a more attractive place for people to come, some of those simple measures such as ensuring places are kept a little bit cleaner, maybe a little bit more enforcement on litter dropping as well as the council doesn't drop the litter, but it's issues like that we can look at.
"Scarborough is still after London the second most visited resort in the country. We have a tremendous offer to the tourism sector and we also need to look at how we can recalibrate our high streets in the light of what we've seen through Covid.
"More people are buying things online and therefore it's putting a lot of pressure on retail in our town centre. Maybe we should look at concentrating the shops that we have in a smaller area and looking at the more outlying retail premises being switched into housing."
Cllr Steve Siddons, Leader of Scarborough Borough Council, said:
“Improving the cleanliness of the borough’s streets and public areas is, and always has been, a priority for this administration. Last autumn we invested in a new high powered machine specifically for cleaning up gull guano and other stubborn dirt. Our cleansing team works very hard to keep the borough litter free but we need people to play their part too. Always dispose of your litter in a public bin or take it home with you.
“Like many other towns, Scarborough needs to adapt to the changes seen in recent years in how we all shop and spend our leisure time, and the constantly changing economic climate.
“Even before coronavirus, this is something we identified in our town centre strategy, which was developed after listening and taking into account the views and needs of local businesses and residents.
“It includes a focus on a more mixed use town centre environment, incorporating housing and cultural and community facilities alongside retail. Work to explore how this would be achieved within the physical footprint of the town and where different amenities would be best located will continue in conjunction with the town centre strategy group, businesses, landlords, residents and other partners. It is not something we can decide on alone, nor would it be appropriate to do so.
“Using money from the Town Deal Fund we are working with businesses and the community to deliver a number of improvements to the attractiveness of the town centre during the coming weeks, including investment in new street furniture, planting, public art and initiatives to improve the appearance of empty and underutilised premises, setting the scene for what we hope will be significant future investment in the town during the coming months and years.”