Runswick Bay: New car park plans approved despite opposition

Plans for a new car park overlooking a popular seaside tourist spot have been approved despite local opposition.

Landowners had applied to North York Moors National Park Authority to create a 44-bay site at the top of Runswick Bay, near Whitby.

It would make the area more attractive to visitors and stop people parking on the village's narrow roads, they said.

But objectors claimed the car park would tarnish the area's appearance and damage the local environment.

The land, at Bank Top, is at the northern edge of the North York Moors National Park and is part of the Mulgrave Estate, owned by the Marquess of Normanby.

Considering the application for the car park, planning councillors were told Runswick Bay had seen unprecedented visitor numbers following the pandemic and since the village was named The Sunday Times' Beach of the Year in 2020, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Opponents said visitor numbers had dropped since the end of Covid lockdown restrictions.

However, councillors also heard that complaints about people parking in inappropriate places had been received before the pandemic and the national media coverage.

The Mulgrave Estate had initially proposed a cafe at the site in addition to the car park, but those plans were later dropped.

Members of the planning authority accepted the car park met its planning policies, would not significantly harm the landscape and would meet parking demand.

Following the meeting, Robert Childerhouse, director of the Mulgrave Estate, said it had worked closely to address people's concerns.

The car park would have a beneficial impact, he added.

"By relieving congestion in this beautiful seaside village, it will become more attractive to tourists and provide a timely boost to cafes, restaurants and shops who are only now emerging from the challenges posed by the global pandemic," he said.

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