Plans for sea life viewing station in coastal town

How the sea life viewing station in Scarborough could look

A new sea life observation station could be created in a North Yorkshire town to raise awareness of the area’s coastal wildlife.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has submitted plans for the new nature tourism attraction on Marine Drive, in Scarborough.

If approved, it would include artworks and telescopes to help people spot some of the porpoise, bottlenose dolphin and minke whales in the region.

Stuart Baines, who runs the Scarborough Porpoise Facebook page, said he was pleased that the plans would give people the chance to “observe fantastic marine wildlife”.

He added: “I strongly support the proposed Sea Watching Hub and artwork at Scarborough’s Marine Drive."

The plans would include wall and floor information panels, free sea-watching telescopes and artwork.

A “semi-derelict shelter” at the southern end of Marine Drive would be repurposed and repaired as part of the plans.

North Yorkshire Council said the shelter, which was constructed in the 1990s in a Victorian style, is currently in a bad state of dilapidation.

The viewing station could also include a mosaic floor installation and other artwork

Meanwhile, information panels would also be installed to include links to video and audio content and Turner prize winner Jeremy Deller would be commissioned to create part of the artwork.

A decorative mosaic floor installation would look “authentically Roman in appearance and carry the beauty and richness in its style of the mosaics of Pompeii,” according to submitted plans.

The plans form part of a partnership between the council and other regional organisations which received £1.4m from the Towns Fund, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

John Oxley, an independent archaeologist and co-director of Big Ideas by the Sea Festival, said the viewing station would be “so valuable to explore the environment and what it means to you through the creative arts”.

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