Council submits demolition plan for Futurist

The authority voted by a margin of one in January to knock down the historic venue.

Since then, ground investigation works have been carried out by the contractor Willmott Dixon and now the final plan has been submitted to the council's planning department.

The plans only relate to the demolition, not the potential £20 million Flamingo Land attraction which is slated to replace it. That will require a separate application in the future.

The demolition, which will cost the council around £4 million, will be carried out using int he council's words, "high-reach mechanical plant fitted with demolition attachments and water hoses to suppress any dust generated."

Part of the King Street car park will also be dug away to allow a 10m wall to be put in place as part of the stabilisation process.

Asbestos will also be removed prior to the demolition.

The plans can be viewed at www.scarborough.gov.uk.

A spokesperson for Scarborough Borough Council said: “The planning application to consider the actual method and process of demolition for the Futurist buildings has been published on the council’s online planning register.

"The application will be subject to the statutory 21 day period for public comment. A date for a decision to be taken on the application by our planning committee will be agreed in due course.

“We have written to individual residents and businesses in the vicinity of the Futurist site to help them better understand the proposed demolition and slope stabilisation scheme. Numerous studies and ground investigations have all shown that the Futurist buildings are supporting the slope behind it.

"That is why we have made it a priority to work with technical experts to create a detailed demolition plan that analyses the risks in great detail and puts in place methods to mitigate them.

“The council and its contractors would not be undertaking the works if we were not of the opinion that we have taken all reasonable steps to mitigate the risk to members of the public, neighbouring properties and our own employees and contractors.

"We have worked with our contractors and designers to consider the implications on the slope behind the Futurist buildings, which has led to the development of a scheme involving work to reduce the angle of the slope behind the buildings to ensure it remains stable during and following demolition.

"Furthermore, we will not be excavating right up to the boundary of the properties immediately surrounding the site. We will be maintaining an exclusion zone where no excavation work will take place.

“Meanwhile, we are continuing to work with Flamingo Land on their exciting plans for developing a brand new attraction o