Latest news with #RichardFlinton
BBC News
25-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Scarborough Athletic new pitch could cost more than £3m, council says
A new football pitch could cost more than £3m after serious structural problems were discovered at the ground, a council boss has said. Scarborough Athletic's artificial 3G pitch was due to be replaced after the final home game of the season on 21 April, in time for the start of the new season in a site survey revealed the pitch at the North Yorkshire Council-owned Scarborough Sports Village had major problems with its foundations and drainage chief executive Richard Flinton said the original £300,000 resurfacing project could now cost more than £3m. Scarborough Athletic was also informed the pitch would not be ready in time for the start of the season and would take a "substantial amount of time" to fix. The council said it was working with the club and wanted it to be in the "driving seat" to find a short-term solution. Flinton said: "The pitch is only in the region of eight years old, so it should have a much longer lifespan. "We are having negotiations and discussions with the developer involved in putting the foundation of the pitch down. "We're working hard with our own experts to work out what's gone wrong here with the drainage."He said there were many options on the table but they had to be realistic about the timeframe and look for solutions in the meantime. "If it involves the substantial relaying of foundations, reinstituting all of the drainage system again, relaying the pitch on top of all that work, then you are looking at a very substantial period of time," he said."That is a massive project and that's why you're talking sums of money in excess of £3m to achieve that." 'Fans worried' Alison Hume, MP for Scarborough and Whitby, attended a Scarborough Athletic home game on Monday, alongside more than 2,000 fans."What was really striking to me was that this is more than just a football club," she said."It's 100% fan-owned, people volunteer many hours in many different roles to keep it ticking over. "It brings people together, so of course people are worried and fans were pulling me aside to ask what was going to happen."Hume said a meeting would be held this week to look for a solution but authorities were still learning about the complexities of the project."We need a plan of action, so that worried fans know what's going to be happening in the season to come," she added."We are finding the best plan to minimise the impact on the club and the fans. We all want to see Scarborough Athletic playing at their ground on a brilliant pitch." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Voter registration urged for new Harrogate & Scarborough town councils
An online event will outline the workings of the new town councils for Harrogate and Scarborough, which are set to launch this year. Residents are also being urged to ensure they are registered to vote for the elections to the councils, which will be held on May 1. Prospective candidates for the town council elections are being asked to attend the online meeting, in March, that will outline the role of the newly elected members and clarify the relationship between the two new town councils and North Yorkshire, while also providing details of the actual elections and the nominations process. Meanwhile, the residents in the relevant wards in both Harrogate and Scarborough are being asked to make sure that they have registered to vote - with the registration deadline set for Friday, April 11. North Yorkshire Council's chief executive, Richard Flinton, said: "The creation of the new town councils is a major milestone in North Yorkshire. "They will mean that all parts of the county will be represented with parish or town councils, meaning all of our communities have a voice in local democracy at a grassroots level. "I would urge anyone who is eligible to vote to make sure that they are registered so they can take part in the elections in Harrogate and Scarborough. "The online session next month is an important event to provide more information about the elections, especially for anyone who is considering standing as a candidate. "The two new town councils will join the 662 parish and town councils that already exist across North Yorkshire, showing our commitment to ensuring our communities are represented at the most local level." When North Yorkshire Council was launched in April 2023, one of the pledges (according to a North Yorkshire Council spokesperson) was to ensure that town and parish councils would be allowed to take on greater responsibilities to allow local communities to have a greater say. In July 2024, following a community governance review, North Yorkshire Council agreed to the creation of the two new town councils, one for the currently unparished part of Harrogate, and one for the currently unparished areas of Scarborough. Following the May 1 election this year, elections will be held again in 2027 for a four-year term to align with elections for North Yorkshire Council and all other parish councils. The online event, which is open to anyone wishing to find out more about the town council elections, will be held at 5pm on Wednesday, March 5. Anyone interested in attending the meeting should email returningofficer@ to register. More details about voter registration are available at
