New store means time for Eastfield’s last pub
Proudfoot’s empire to expand, bringing with it up to 25 jobs
Eastfield’s last pub will close and become the latest store in the Proudfoot’s empire.
Management at The Eastfield have been given 28 days’ notice before the builders come in to begin transforming it into a supermarket.
It is expected the shop, the first new store in well over a decade, will create up to 25 full and part-time jobs when it opens next April.
Owner Ian Proudfoot raised a glass to the plans, which he feels are “good news for the community”.
B u t t h e p u b ’s o u t g o i n g bos s s a i d t he news o f f i nal orders was a dark day for Eastfield.
“When this closes, it must mean Eastfield is one of the biggest parts of the country without a proper pub,” said manager John Kitteringham
The pub i t s el f i s al ready owned by the Proudfoot group, having been snapped up at auction around two years ago, and run by the Yorkshire chain Ash Pubs and Taverns.
Mr Proudfoot said he empathised with residents over the loss of their local, but Ash’s demands – to operate the struggling pub without paying rates or rent – made no sense financially.
“If it wasn’t for us the pub would have closed two years ago,” said the businessman.
And outlining his plans for the development, which will be overseen by his nephew Marcus, he said: ” We have some good plans to make it very smart within the planning rules and retain a lot of its existing features.
“There will be a real ‘wow’ factor – you will be surprised when you go inside and see how nice it is.
“We are going to completely open it up on the inside.”
That work will commence next month, but won’t require planning permission.
That’s because pubs are subject to permitted development rights, legislation which allows pubs to be transformed i nto shops without the plans having to go before the council.
As s uc h , T h e Proud f o o t Group enacted a clause in the contract it had with the chain to give the firm 28 days’ notice to vacate the site.
For Mr Kitteringham, the decision is not only a bitter professional pill to swallow but also a personal one.
“I grew up around here, and lived on this estate most of my life and I love it around here – to not have a pub is just unthinkable,” he said.
“I love my job, the clientèle are great and we were finally starting to get busy.
“I just don’t think we need another shop – we need a pub.”
Without a planning application to object to, he has now c ontacted Scarborough MP Robert Goodwill in a bid to try to put the brakes on the plans.
However Mr Proudfoot said he had to act now, adding: “John seems to be a very good manager and he’s helped to improve the service that he was offering.
“But the pub has been struggling to attract customers for a long, long time.
“S e ve r a l t h ou s a nd pubs have closed nationally and we look at this new store as a positive, otherwise this building would close.
“We are investing new funds into the building and giving it a new use which will attract thousands of new customers a week.”
A spokesperson for Scarborough Borough Council’s Planning team said: “Pre-planning discussions between the planning authority and any l andowner or developer are confidential and therefore we cannot comment.”
‘The new store will have a real ‘wow’
factor’