Scarborough: Is £11m project to breathe new life into resort regeneration or gentrification?

But as debate rages over the spa town's regeneration there are accusations it is more like gentrification. So what does the future hold for Scarborough as Britain's first seaside resort?

To some, they like it "just as it is". Others would prefer a "little less tat". Ultimately, as this week marked the schools' half term, footfall may speak louder than words.

Ronnie Morton and Ellie Rawling, from Birstall near Leeds, are cursing - they'd forgotten it was the school holidays.

"We messed up," chuckled Mr Morton, aged 74. "We like to come when it's quiet."

And to Ms Rawlings, eyeing the crowds with a smile, she said: "There is still a future for resorts like Scarborough. Everybody is still bringing their children."

Once it was the wealthy of Victorian society that would come to Scarborough to pivot and promenade, taking in the spa waters of this first great British seaside resort.

Then the heydays of the 1960s and 70s, when David Hodgson could remember there would hardly be space for a swimmer to lay their towel.

The 75-year-old, owner of Flamingo Bay ice cream, as well as neighbouring fish & chip shops and a gift shop, was brought up on the foreshore with his father in business before him.

Now, post-lockdown and with many people shying away from expensive holidays abroad, he said Scarborough's South Bay is booming as one of the country's premiere resorts.

"People come for some happy thoughts of the Scarborough seaside," he said. "There does seem to be a real resurgence of people relishing these pastimes."

Scarborough Council pressed ahead with plans on Tuesday for the regeneration of the town's historic West Pier, adding another £3.9m to the pot to set a start on pre-construction.

The meeting was rowdy - even suspended for 25 minutes - as traders protested from the gallery over the impact it might have.

To the council, the wider £11m project would "breathe new life" into the harbour area, with modern fishing facilities, hospitality and shops, trader kiosks, new bathrooms and a restaurant.

The wider aim is to make the town a more prosperous place. More attractive as a holiday resort - a destination of choice and to bring about cultural regeneration.

To Mr Hodgson, a lot of the traders are up in arms. What the beach needs is parking, he insisted, not for millions to be spent on fixing something that doesn't need to be changed.

"For us, the regeneration funding is for an area which does not require funding," he said. "The foreshore trade is very good. Unfortunately it's the town centre that is suffering badly, as is the whole of the country."

James Corrigan owns the Penny Arcade, as well as a fish & chip shop, an ice cream parlour launched just in lockdown, and new holiday homes.

It was his grandfather Jimmy Corrigan, of Batley Variety Club fame, that brought the first travelling fairground to Scarborough and settled here in the post-war years.

It's in his blood, this foreshore, he insists. It's fish and chips, it's ice cream. It's "sand in your shoes and sand in your sandwiches", and ultimately what he calls the 'Michael Fish factor'.

Every evening as a child he would sit with his father to watch the BBC forecaster place plastic sunshines on a weather map. If it was Blackpool, it was a bust, if it was Scarborough, it was busy.

"A lot of people, when they come here, have been coming for generations," he said. "They know what they like. But there are some very fond memories. You see grandparents with the grandkids, and you see them close their eyes. It's a trip back in time. Nothing changes.

"It's comfort, in a crazy world. That nostalgia - it cannot be ignored. I don't know much but I do know that. The majority of our customers come here for a reflection on the past."

Along the South Bay this week, there were family groups playing in the sand. Groups of friends, on a coach trip from Liverpool, staying at The Grand. Most appeared to be regional day trippers, having travelled from across Yorkshire.

John and Bev Richmond, from Ackworth, brought their granddaughters Alexis, 8, and Skylar, 6. Usually they visit Robin Hood's Bay in the holidays, but were swayed by the girls' pleas.

Alexis said she likes the donkeys and the 2p machines, Skylar said there were too many people. Mrs Richmond admitted that she preferred other resorts: "I think they want to take away a lot of the tat. There are too many amusements, one after another, but that's what people come for I suppose. It's a bit old fashioned - it needs to be a bit more in the present."

Liverpool's Diane Kewin, 65, remembers an old fairground wheel from when she was a teenager. Lynn Mowbray, from Lincolnshire, used to come to see the symphony orchestra with her sister. Mr Morton, born near Hull, remembers looking for the first glimpse of the sea from the train as he came for his own childhood holidays.

And Sally Robinson, from Liversedge in West Yorkshire, who is here with four generations of her family; daughter Amelia, 11, grandson Riley, three, and her mum Lynn, aged 71.

"It's the nicest coast I think," she said. "We've been coming for years, we came as kids. It's the 'old school' part of it I like. Blackpool is too commercial."

But for her mother, the 'Michael Fish factor' had certainly played a part; she had looked first to see if Blackpool had better weather.

"We just like the seaside," she said. "We've had chips, the kids have played on the beach. If it had been summer I'd have joined them, digging in the sand.

"It's fresh air, it's the kids running around. We grab a coffee and an ice cream. We like it as it is. I don't go into the town," she admitted. "This is what we like."