North Yorkshire Council’s plan to replace the playing surface at Scarborough Sports Village will not be completed by the start of the football season in August, leading residents and politicians to express anger and dismay at the announcement.
The council had been planning to replace the surface with an upgraded version at the end of the current season.
Following an emergency meeting held last night (April 16), Scarborough Athletic FC’s Board of Directors said: “The club have now been informed that the new playing surface will not be ready for the start of the 2025/26 football season in August as originally envisaged and at this time North Yorkshire Council are unable to commit to a completion date.”
Coun Rich Maw, who represents the area on NYC, said: “Let’s call this what it is, an absolute outrage and disservice to Scarborough AFC fans, to Scarborough, and potentially of ticket sales and the future of our amazing club.”
The representative for Weaponness and Ramshill said that until Wednesday evening he had been “under the impression that the new pitch was to be in place, as promised by NYC last year, in time for the 25/26 season”.
He added: “I am aghast that as the division member, I was not made aware of any potential issues until I received communications following my request this morning from NYC officers.”
Jo Ireland, the authority’s assistant director for culture, leisure and libraries, said: “The 3G pitch at the Scarborough Sports Village was due to be resurfaced this summer.
“However, a site survey has identified serious structural issues including a defective drainage system installed when the facility was first constructed.
“The works required before the pitch can be resurfaced are therefore considerably more extensive and complex.”
Coun Maw said he was told by officers that the “serious structural issues include a defective drainage system installed when the facility was first constructed – this has resulted in ground instability and movement”.
Assistant director, Ms Ireland, said that “due to the complexity of the situation” the pitch would not be available for competitive fixtures for the start of next season but added that non-competitive community use could continue “for the time being”.
She said: “We fully appreciate the impact of this on Scarborough Athletic Football Club, Scarborough Ladies Football Club, and the other teams that use the pitch.
“We are working closely with them, other facility users and stakeholders as we assess all available options.”
