Hunt for funding to keep hostel open

The news comes four years after a retrenchment programme spelt the end for Yorkshire hostels at Keld and Stainforth in North Yorkshire and at Langsett near Sheffield.

The Scarborough hostel building needs investment of 350,000. The YHA says even if there was a big increase in visitors it would still make a loss. It will try to re-deploy the staff elsewhere. The hostel opened in 1935 and last year had 5,500 overnight stays. Its occupancy rate of 51 per cent compares poorly with 80-90 per cent at the YHA's best performing sites.

Coun Janet Jefferson, responsible for tourism on the borough council, said: "Any loss of any amenity for young people is a concern. It's a facility that young people can use at a minimal cost. They may be on walking holidays, they may be cycling round Britain and it's one of these things that has always been available

to them."

Coun Jefferson, also a member of North Yorkshire County Council, is to inquire whether other funds might be available to keep the hostel open.

As a district and county councillor, John Blackie fought to stop the closure of Aysgarth Keld hostel. "There's quite a bit of infrastructure around a youth hostel," he said.

"When Aysgarth closed, the local garage closed, the electrician who had done quite a bit of work in the youth hostel also closed."

CW 22/5/10