Charity needs new building to continue support

A charity's premises could be demolished and replaced as the existing building is at "breaking point", according to planning documents.

The Rainbow Centre submitted plans for a three-and-a-half-storey facility including a charity shop on its site in Scarborough.

The charity has supported vulnerable and homeless people in the town for 29 years from Parish House on Castle Road.

Planning documents said: "Due to the constraints of the space it occupies, the ever-increasing demand for its services and the ageing nature of the building, the charity is struggling to maintain its standards of operation."

In recent years, the charity has expanded into other areas of Parish House and erected an outbuilding to house a food bank, the plans said.

The new building would feature almost 12,000 sq ft (1,110 sqm) of floor space, with a total ground floor footprint of 5,210 sq ft (484 sqm).

It had been designed, the charity said, to accommodate the requirements of clients and service providers, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The plans added that the development would include large outdoor spaces that are rich in biodiversity.

"The existing under-utilised garden spaces will be replaced with a carefully considered landscape that maximises the area whilst retaining the existing mature tree located on the east of the site," the plans state.

Scarborough Town Councillors said they supported the scheme, at a meeting of the community and place committee on 29 April.

The local planning authority, North Yorkshire Council, is considering the proposals but has not set a date for deciding on the scheme.

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