Council silent over another Futurist plan delay.
Wall of silence from council over confusion
A decision on the fate of the Futurist Theatre has again been delayed – with Scarborough Council not giving a reason for the change.
The decision date for the building has now been pushed from July to September to October and then finally it was due to be discussed on Monday.
However, when Monday’s Full Council agenda was published the Futurist was nowhere to be seen and is now provisionally stated for a January decision.
The council plans to demolish the building in order to make way for a Flamingo Land resort to be built on the site.
The reason for the delay has not been revealed despite repeated requests from The Scarborough News.
Patricia David, one of those fighting to retain the theatre, said the council’s wall of silence approach was the reason that so many rumours were flying around the town.
“They just say nothing and it leads to speculation,” she added. “There were rumours about the demolition and about Flamingo Land pulling out. Only the council can stop this by coming out and saying what is going on.”
When contacted by The Scarborough News a spokesman for Flamingo Land said that “nothing had changed” with regards to its intention to develop the Foreshore Road site.
It has recently been discovered that earlier this year the council applied for a Certificate of Immunity from Listing for the building.
If granted it would stop any listing attempts, such as the one Ms David and the Save Our Futurist Group have put together, from succeeding.
However, if the council’s request is denied it would lead to the Futurist being statutorily listed automatically.
Campaigners held a meeting last night at the YMCA to try and inform the public and hear their concerns over the plans to knock down the building.
Speaking before the meeting, Ms David said that all 50 councillors had been invited to attend the meeting to listen to the public’s concerns but, at the time of going to press, only two had said they would be going.
Scarborough Council was invited to give a comment for the public but declined the opportunity.