Independent guest houses and B&Bs in Scarborough to become extinct in 20 years time, hoteliers warn

According to one estimate, 262 guest houses and B&Bs in Scarborough have closed in the last decade, with dozens more going through the planning process currently.

Scarborough Borough Council says it disagrees with the prediction, and that small establishments remained the “lifeblood” of the town.

But the threat to tourism is well recognised by the council, and while measures are in place to make it harder for developers to change the use of traditional accommodation, many hoteliers feel it is still too easy to circumvent the rules.

The local plan, designed to guide all planning decisions, states: “There is continued pressure to convert visitor accommodation to other uses, particularly from guest houses to residential uses.

“This must be carefully monitored as the appeal of this area as a tourism destination could be threatened by a shortage of quality and range of accommodation types.

“The approach will therefore be to resist inappropriate change of use of visitor accommodation across the borough’s towns.”

Jo Lee is the co-owner of the Cavendish guest house, on Esplanade Road.

She said: “We've been running a bed and breakfast in Scarborough for 11 years and there has been a noticeable decline in the number of guest houses and bed and breakfasts.

“I'm not anti big hotels, there is a place for big hotels in any town, but one of the things people like about Scarborough is the independents.

“The council put in a local plan and part of that was to protect guest houses. They wouldn't be allowed to convert them to any other use unless it could be deemed that it was no longer financially viable for them to carry on. But the council to me doesn't seem to be doing due diligence, they're just taking people's word for it.

“The council doesn't have their finger on the pulse. It goes against their local plan, and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to why an application gets approved or declined and it's very worrying because if they're not careful there will be so few guest houses and small accommodation owners in Scarborough that we will just become like any other town.

“It’s very worrying because they don't seem to be listening to us. They seem to be making up their own rules or breaking rules as they see fit.

“We think we've lost about 232 guest houses or B&Bs in the last 10 years. We have lost so many.

“Don't get me wrong, there are some wonderful things happening for Scarborough and there is investment being put in. I'm not negative about Scarborough, it's about the management of it.

“It will eventually happen (that there are no independent guesthouses left) at the rate they are going 15 or 20 years is probably not far off.

“The council needs to have a real hard look at what they're doing and what their plans for Scarborough are.

"There is no long term strategy to it whatsoever, which the local plan was supposed to have."

Tony Bates is the owner of Hotel Ellenby, on North Marine Road. He moved to Scarborough during the pandemic, and said even in that time, two of the hotels he looked at buying have since been converted into flats.

“The other week they did turn down an HMO application for a hotel which is understandable but a couple of weeks ago on Columbus Ravine they allowed a change of use to a care home.

“To me that's the thin end of the wedge because they said there’s enough holiday accommodation in the area because of the chains. It's saying that's what people want. I don't think it is what people want, I think it's what you have allowed to happen.

“It seems to me the council has been behind killing all the seaside hotels.

“None of it makes sense. It just seems to be ridiculous, they've not been looking at what is the core value of this seaside resort.

“You've replaced the local small independent hotel with a big chain so all you've done is take profits out of the area.

“In 20 years there will be no small hotels in Scarborough the way it's going.

“I think we are the last people in the last two and a half years who have bought a hotel and traded as a hotel.

“The people who sold it to us had been here 17 years and they said 'we never thought we were going to sell this to someone who will trade as a hotel, every single one we've known since we've been here they've all closed and lost to flats.'

A spokesman for Scarborough Borough Council said: “We do not agree with the prediction that Scarborough will have no independent accommodation providers in 20 years’ time.

"Smaller establishments are the lifeblood and backbone of the accommodation offer on the Yorkshire coast.

“Many hotel, bed and breakfast and guest house owners have invested significantly in their offer in recent years to remain competitive and attractive to customers.

“They benefit from their investment, which also supports the local visitor economy.

“Although several planning applications to change hotels to care homes have been approved, this is not widespread and rather reflects the need to create more social care bed spaces in our borough.

"We only have three national hotel chains in Scarborough. Even with the recent expansion of the Premier Inn, there is no hard evidence to suggest this is to the detriment of independent providers.

“Sadly, for many visitors, the cost of living crisis is affecting their spending plans and ability to book months ahead like they may have done in previous years.

"With a destination as popular as Scarborough it is important we have a balanced mix of accommodation to cater for all markets and budgets.

"It remains the case that smaller establishments still form the majority of the accommodation offer in our town and borough."