Scarborough businessman Tony Peers is hosting the first of two meetings aimed at demystifying the words “urban renaissance” and getting more people involved in the town’s regeneration.

Mr Peers, who runs an entertainments company, hopes the informal drop-in sessions will help unravel the process which has seen the delivery of multimillion pound projects including the transformation of the inner harbour, installation of new pontoons, new lighting and paving on Sandside, the £4.5 million redevelopment of the Rotunda Museum and creation of Woodend Creative Workspace.

Mr Peers is the chairman of the Town Team, the main steering group of Scarborough’s urban regeneration project.

He said: “When I first took on the role of chairman of this group I became aware many people really didn’t understand the term ‘urban renaissance’ and I didn’t want those words to become a barrier which prevented people getting involved.

“I think it’s important the process of regeneration of Scarborough is as transparent as it can be. After all our town doesn’t just belong to certain groups of people, it belongs to us all.”

The drop-in sessions will be held in informal places such as cafes around the town.

“I want people to be able to call in for a cuppa and a chat,” he said.

“I want to give people who may have heard about urban renaissance the opportunity to talk about exactly what we mean by those words, outside the setting of the regular formal meetings which take place.

The first meeting is on Wednesday August 27 in the cafe in the Brunswick Centre.

The second takes place two days later on Friday August 29 in Coasters, the Eastfield Community Cafe. Both meetings take place between 11am and 1pm.

l The Evening News has joined forces with Mr Peers to help further spread the message of Scarborough’s regeneration success and future strategy.

Watch out for more dates, venues and times where you can have tea with Mr Peers and talk to him about your thoughts and suggestions. In addition, you can raise some ideas for him to think about or discuss.