Work on Scarborough ambulance station on hold as costs triple

Plans for the new station were approved in October 2022, with an expected cost of £7m

Work on Scarborough's multimillion-pound ambulance station has been put on hold after costs tripled.

The new facility on Woodlands Drive, next to Scarborough Hospital, was originally set to cost £7m.

But work had been paused after a "significant escalation" of costs to £21m, Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust said.

The trust said it would "fully review the funding requirements" of the new ambulance station.

Councillors approved plans for the new ambulance hub - which was set to act as a "cluster" for the maintenance and preparation of ambulances in Scarborough, Filey, Bridlington, Kirkbymoorside, and Whitby - in October 2022 and the purchase of the site was finalised last March.

It was designed for 112 members of staff and would be operated by teams covering 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to ensure ambulance crews could access fully equipped, re-fuelled and re-stocked ambulances at all times.

Plans for the new ambulance station at Scarborough Hospital

The ambulance service is currently split between two sites in Scarborough which have been deemed "no longer fit for purpose", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The main site at Queen Margaret's Road has around 60 members of staff working on the A&E operations service and 15 members of staff working in the patient transport service.

The current station at Scarborough is leased and was built in 1998.

The ambulance service said it worked closely with York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to "minimise long patient handover delays to ensure those patients in the community receive and safe and responsive service".

According to a report prepared for a meeting of Scarborough and Whitby area constituency committee (ACC) due to take place on Friday, "this remains a priority for both organisations".

A senior executive meeting had taken place in mid-February to discuss the issue, it added.

Members of the ACC are due to be presented with a report on the progress of the work on the new ambulance station at Friday's meeting, following a site visit by members last week.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust has been contacted for further comment.