Scarborough Alpamare: Council not ruling out subsidising waterpark

Flamingo Land has been appointed as the new operator of the Scarborough waterpark

North Yorkshire Council says it has not ruled out spending public money to keep Scarborough's Alapamare venue open.

The authority took possession of the waterpark in December, after previous owners Benchmark collapsed.

On Wednesday Leisure firm Flamingo Land was appointed as the new operator, with the aim of reopening the attraction in time for the summer season.

However, the authority's deputy leader Gareth Dadd said "nobody knows" how it was going to trade commercially.

He said data from the next 12 months would give the council an idea of how to secure a long-term future for the site.

Flamingo Land, which is Yorkshire's leading tourist attraction, has been contracted to run Alpamare for a year.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the detailed terms of the contract are yet to be finalised.

The announcement came as the authority's audit firm neared the end of its independent investigation as to how previous owners Benchmark secured a deal to run the £14m park with Scarborough Borough Council.

The council said the deal, which was agreed by councillors behind closed doors, had left the taxpayer some £7.9m down.

The council has not yet ruled out a possible subsidy to ensure Alpamare's future

Mr Dadd said while the authority was "not confident" it could retrieve the money, it had taken ownership of the attraction as "some sort of mitigation".

A final report is expected to be published during the summer.

Mr Dadd added that Flamingo Land was a partner that the council "had confidence in" due to their experience, business skills and employment of local people.

"Be under no illusion, we are still not certain that this will not require subsidy," he said.

"Nobody knows how it is going to trade commercially.

"We're not saying we will have to pay a subsidy, and that, of course, is part of the negotiations."

'Evolution, not revolution'

He explained that this was why the council looked for a 12-month tenure with an option to extend for a further 12 months.

"That will give us a better idea and some data with which we can try and secure a long-term future for the site, if it's appropriate to do so," Mr Dadd added.

Chief executive of Flamingo Land, Gordon Gibb, said the planned changes to the park would be an "evolution, not revolution" to begin with.

He hoped to tackle energy efficiency at the site and operate a software system to show how many customers had left the park before the end of their session, to sell extra tickets.

Other plans under consideration include discounts for local residents, putting on shuttle buses from Flamingo Land and creating holiday accommodation at the water park.