Apartments at £1m Victorian school?
Former theatre and art college up for sale
The future of another of Scarborough’s historic buildings is uncertain after the former Westwood campus was put up for sale for £1 million. The one-time school, theatre and home to Yorkshire Coast College’s art school is listed with estate agents Nicholson for tender, with a January deadline for offers.
As a Grade Two listed building, unlike the Futurist and South Cliff Bowls Club, the big Victorian-era structure is
safe from the bulldozer but it could have a new apartment block built at its rear.
The development plan offers the building up as a conversion into flats and apartments.
The change will see the loss of the historic Theatre in the Round, which housed the world premiere of Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black before it transferred to become on the most famous plays in West End history.
The theatre at Westwood opened with a revival of Alan Ayckbourn’s Mr Whatnot on October 26 1976.
Since September it the building has been empty since Yorkshire Coast College’s, now Scarborough TEC, move to the former University of Hull Campus in Filey Road.
The building which housed the campus was opened in 1900 and was called the Municipal School, or ‘The Muni’ by the locals.
It became the Boys’ Grammar School before it was converted to become the old Stephen Joseph Theatre in 1976. The three-vomitorium theatre design and shape was created for the move to Westwood, and was then reproduced exactly at the new Stephen Joseph Theatre venue.
Famous alumni of Westwood include novelist Storm Jameson and author Leo Walmsley,
In the development brief it states: “The theatre ‘in the round’ remains a central feature of the existing building and may be of interest and use to a development focused on business use such as offices, hotel, educational, entertainment complex.
“A re-development in residential use is available and supported the current Scarborough local plan. Please note the sale excludes land occupied by the North Yorkshire County Council pupil referral unit that lies above what is currently the ceramic workshop & car park at the western end of the site which is the area available for a potential new build.
“The existing buildings are grade 2 listed and any conversion will need to be sympathetic to the fabric and in keeping with the surrounding public park environment.”
The development scheme allows for 32 two bedroom apartments, some split level within the existing Westwood building, and 16 two bedroom new build apartments.