Luxury holiday development is given the go-ahead for the coast
A MULTI-MILLION-POUND luxury holiday development planned for the Yorkshire coast has been heralded as an internationally important scheme by tourism bosses after it was given the goahead.
Plans for the £31m project on the Raithwaite Estate were approved by Scarborough Council’s planning committee yesterday.
The development is to be built in the 80 acres of the five-star Raithwaite Hall, between Whitby and Sandsend, and will include 71 cottages, 82 apartments and 37 lodges.
Developer Yorkshire Ventures (Estates) claimed that the scheme will create 278 new jobs both on the site and for holiday businesses in the area.
Sir Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, the region’s tourism marketing organisation, said: “This will be a huge development and the benefits to Yorkshire will be immeasurable.
“Raithwaite Estate will become Raithwaite Bay – a world-class destination for both national and international tourism.”
However, the scheme had provoked opposition, with parish councillors claiming the scale of the development would impact on the coast and the North York Moors National Park.
There was opposition from members of the Whitby Civic Society, who were also concerned about the scale of the scheme, as well as increased levels of traffic problems and its visual impact.
The land where the development is planned saw the construction in the mid-19th century of Raithwaite Hall, which became the home of a local shipping magnate George Pyman.
Raithwaite Hall, which is now an 80-bedroom hotel, spa and restaurant set in 100 acres with seven luxury cottages, went into administration in July 2015.
But it emerged in February last year that Yorkshire Ventures was about to acquire the Raithwaite Estate in an eight-figure deal from the administrators KPMG.
Before the new development on the estate can take place, plans must be approved by Yorkshire Water and the Environment Agency for the way in which the site will link to the area’s main sewers.
The plans for the development were passed with 12 votes in favour and three abstentions at yesterday’s council meeting.