North Yorkshire Council

 

Report for Corporate Director Community Development

 

5 June 2026

 

Designation of the High Street Rental Auction Area for the

Scarborough Pilot scheme

 

 

1.0       PURPOSE OF REPORT

 

1.1         To seek designation of the area for the Scarborough High Street Rental Auction pilot.

 

 

2.0       BACKGROUND

 

2.1       At the 17 March 2026 Executive a report was considered enable the Council to pilot new powers afforded to it under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 to help tackle the issue of long-term vacancies on our high streets. High Street Rental Auctions (HSRA) allow the Council to intervene by compelling landlords of qualifying properties to accept tenants secured as a result of an auction of a lease. As the condition of the town centre and the level of vacancies consistently represents as the key issue people want to see improved in Scarborough, the report proposed a pilot of HSRA powers in the town.

 

2.2       At the meeting it was resolved that the Executive:

i.           Note the report and the new HSRA powers that the Council can utilise.

ii.         Grant consent to begin community engagement relating to the designation of a High Street Rental Auction (HSRA) area in Scarborough.

iii.        Delegate powers to designate the final HSRA area and to delegate powers to implement individual rental auctions to the Corporate Director Community Development

iv.        Approve that continual evaluation to be undertaken during the Scarborough pilot to assess the outcomes, impacts and resource implications. Authorisation to extend application of the powers to be delegated to the Corporate Director for Community Development in consultation with the Executive Member for Open to Business.

 

2.3       The first stage of the process to be able to utilise the HSRA powers is to undertake engagement with local stakeholders on the area that is proposed that the powers will be used. To achieve this officers undertook the following activity:

·                Engagement period: HSRA boundary engagement for the proposed Scarborough town centre designation ran from 22 April to 19 May 2026. 

·                Website: Information was published on the Sprucing Up Scarborough webpage, including details of the HSRA process, the proposed boundary, and how people could take part. 

·                Survey: An online survey was made available during the engagement period.

·                Paper surveys: Paper survey options were made available at Scarborough Town Hall and Scarborough Library. 

·                Letters to owners / landlords: Letters were sent directly to property owners / landlords where properties had been identified as vacant within the proposed HSRA pilot area, explaining the process and inviting early dialogue. 

·                Town Centre Team: The Town Centre Team were invited to engage with the process and share the opportunity through relevant networks.

·         Library drop-in: An in-person public drop-in session was held at Scarborough Library & Information Centre on 6 May 2026, from 10am to 1pm, giving people the opportunity to ask questions and find out more about the proposed designation.

 

2.4       In total 172 responses to the survey were received. The headline survey outcome was that 81% of respondents agreed that the proposed area was the right place to focus HSRA support, with 10% neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and 9% disagreeing. A few suggestions of additional areas to include were made, but they are not core town centre areas so the intention is not to include them and designate the area originally outlined. The survey results are attached as Appendix A and the map of the area for designation is attached as Appendix B.

 

3.0       CONCLUSIONS

 

3.1       The key issue people want to see improved in Scarborough is the condition of the town centre and in particular to see vacant shops brought back into use. From the engagement work undertaken it is clear there is strong support for the application of the HSRA powers to help tackle this issue.

 

3.2       The area proposed for designation was strongly supported.

 

4.0

RECOMMENDATION

 

 

i)        That the area show in Appendix B is designated as the High Street Rental Auction area for the Scarborough pilot.

 

 

 

 

 

Nic Harne

Corporate Director – Community Development

 

Report Author – Mark Haynes, Regeneration Delivery Manager     

 

Background information: 17 March 2026 Executive report

 

Appendices:

 

Appendix A: HSRA Survey Results

Appendix B: Map of HSRA area to be designated