Football club granted 'exceptional' council loan

A football club has been granted a £150,000 council loan to help secure its future amid ongoing pitch problems.

The "exceptional" funding for Scarborough Athletic FC was unanimously approved by North Yorkshire Council, after its home ground was closed due to "serious and unexpected" structural issues.

The club, which has been playing its home fixtures at Bridlington Town's stadium, requested financial support while it fixed foundations and drainage system issues at Scarborough Sports Village.

Councillor Simon Myers, executive member for culture, arts, and housing said the authority was "anxious that the club continues to thrive and provide opportunities for young people in Scarborough".

The loan would "help the club over a difficult cashflow situation", he added, and was approved at a council meeting earlier today.

"We recognise it's quite a peculiar set of circumstances, as SAFC is our tenant and this work has required them to play this season in Bridlington, which has caused a fall in revenue from ticket sales, hospitality, and so on.

"We have every confidence that they will repay this and that it will only be used if they need it."

Works are currently taking place to remedy the significant structural defects which came to light ahead of planned resurfacing last year.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the loan is set to be provided at commercial rates.

However, if repayments are made in line with the loan agreement, the council said a grant would be provided to SAFC as a "contribution towards the interest payments".

Concerns about the loan were raised by the leader of the Green and Independents group, councillor Kevin Foster, who emphasised that the loan should be a "one-off".

Councillor Heather Phillips, executive member for corporate services, said she was pleased to see the authority "continuing to support communities like Scarborough".

Work to repair the ground and relay the 3G pitch was previously projected to cost £3m and to be completed by August.

However, Myers indicated that the total cost could amount to less, although he could not confirm what the final cost would be.

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