Acronym alert! As the current government slices up the country into LEPs (that’s Local Enterprise Partnerships) and scrap the RDA’s (Regional Development Agencies – ours was Yorkshire Forward) it’s a good time for towns and cities in the region to look back at how they’ve spent the big pots of regeneration money that YF dished out, because that kind of cash is going to be thin on the ground for the next few years.

YF called it ‘Renaissance’, here in Scarborough we never quite settled on a name for it (’Town Team’, ‘Scarborough’s Future’ and ‘Renaissance’ were all interchangeable) but in a nutshell (or should that be seashell?) it was the people of the town getting a genuine say in how regeneration money should be spent.

And what did the people of Scarborough say?

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John Penrose visited Scarborough as part of a whistle-stop tour of Britain and admitted to being "amazed" by its attractions.

Mr Penrose's trip, which included the Open Air Theatre as its centrepiece, was designed to give him an insight into a traditional seaside town ahead of a government report on increasing tourism in Britain.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, who helped arrange the visit, said it was a coup to attract someone of Mr Penrose's calibre to the town.

He said: "It was more of a fact finding mission and a chance for him to come and see what Scarborough had to offer.

"Being the MP for Weston-Super-Mare he comes from a seaside resort but was taken by how Scarborough was quite different from his home town.

"He was certainly impressed by Scarborough's standing as the first seaside resort, he liked the look of the town and thought the Open Air Theatre was amazing. We took him on to the stage area and he thought that was quite awe-inspiring.

"I don't know the last time a Tourism Minister came Scarborough and we were really pleased he could visit."

Future funding for Welcome to Yorkshire is under review.

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The Castle will provide refuge for more than 30 pirates on the run from the Redcoat soldiers.

Twice a day visitors will see battles between the Redcoats and the pirates with displays of weapons including cannons, muskets, boarding pikes and the cutlass, with the Big Top Tent hosting musical performances of Treasure Island.

Jon Hogan, events manager, said: “Character’s like Disney’s Captain Jack Sparrow have really caught the imagination of the public, and pirates have become loveable rogues, but the reality of piracy was far harder”.

“Few pirates would escape the gallows if caught, so any skirmishes between pirates and the militia were likely to be bloody affairs, with the pirates literally fighting for their lives”.

Visitors will also learn how piracy was given respect by the monarchy, with tales of privateers who attacked foreign ships before sharing a portion of the spoils with the Crown and hear the exploits of famous sea-bound outlaws including Captain John ‘Calico Jack’ Rackham, who terrorised the Jamaican coast in the 1720s.

The event runs from Saturday August 29 until Monday August 31 from 11.00am to 5.00pm, with the Castle open from 10.00am to 6.00pm.

Crown Spa Hotel, Scarborough, North Yorkshire