COUNCILLORS are being urged to agree a compulsory purchase order for a former theatre and bar to enable a multi-million pound seafront development to go ahead.

Scarborough Borough Council and development agency Yorkshire Forward want to redevelop the Futurist and Mermaid site, on the Foreshore, together with adjoining shops, to provide a leisure and residential complex.

But in a report to the authority, council officials say that while negotiations to buy the shops and a takeaway are progressing well, the owner of The Mermaid is unwilling to do a deal.

The former Arcadia Theatre, where summer season farces were staged for several years, is where Scarborough-born Hollywood actor Charles Laughton made his stage debut.

Graham Price, the council's head of property services, said a purchase order, which could be for about £300,000, was the only way forward.

He said: "There is a substantial difference between the price the owner is seeking and the price the council's agents are willing to recommend."

The council said the site would create jobs in a multi-purpose venue, attract investment, increase land values, boost Scarborough's economy and improve the resort's image.

The scheme could include shops, leisure attractions, cinema, a theatre and event auditorium, flats, restaurants and bars.