Scarborough is one of the UK’s best-known seaside towns. It is the largest holiday resort on the Yorkshire coast and has been popular with tourists for 400 years. A titular song has even been spawned about the town’s medieval fair.
Rebecca Walker, practice manager and contact lens optician at Local Eyes Opticians originally from Scarborough, says: ‘It’s a nice seaside town and tourist destination. It tends to get busier at the weekends and at the moment we have a buzz outside the practice as more people are after sunglasses.’
Walker tries to offer patients a very personal service when they come into the practice.
‘We have regular patients who come in for cups of tea and chats as well as appointments. Some feel like friends as well as patients. We actually have a coffee machine in the practice and there is a coffee menu on a blackboard. Our coffee stencil that says “Local Eyes” is popular with patients.’
Local Eyes stocks brands such as Versace, Ray-Ban and Vanni, which are all popular. ‘Vanni is often what women go for, the eyewear is more vibrant and individual. We find that the brands that aren’t as big tend to do better than more expensive ones here,’ Walker (pictured) says.
The practice is part of a group of independents in the area. It offers retinal photography and Blephex treatment for patients. Also available are Optomap and OCT, both of which can be carried out at the practice’s sister branch five minutes up the road.
Adele Rose, assistant manager and student dispensing optician, works at Pagan & McQuade Opticians, which is the practice that houses the Optomap and OCT services for patients who require them. Rose says: ‘We aim to be the leading practice for clinical care in the area. We run dry eye clinics and low vision appointments for the patients that need them, and we also offer a complimentary style consultation with every sight test.’
This year marks her second year at the practice, which has a strong relationship with its customers. ‘It’s a very personal feel here and we know most of the customers by name,’ Rose says. ‘We send little cards on birthdays and usually know special events that are going on with our customers.’
Pagan & McQuade Opticians has a new floor in its practice that hosts a frame showroom. It stocks brands such as Moscot, Andy Wolf, Tomato Glasses and Nine.
Rose says that working in Scarborough is great, as there are ‘lots of nice walks or lovely shops and cafes to explore’.
Who’s in town
Total: 6
Independents: 3
Multiples: 3
Average costs
The price of an eye exam in Scarborough ranges from £10 to £37, at an average cost of £26.83.
Population - see pie chart
Population: 107,824
Community eye care
According to the Locsu Atlas Map of Optical Variation, North Yorkshire Local Optical Committee has a contract with Scarborough and Ryedale CCG in Glaucoma Repeat Readings, OHT Monitoring, Minor Eye Conditions Service, Ophthalmology Referral Triage and Cataract Referral.
Health and affluence
- The average house price in Scarborough is £174,555 (Zoopla), compared with a UK average of £224,144 (Land Registry, 2018).
- Scarborough has an average salary of £20,291, with the UK average being £27,271 (Payscale, 2018).
- In Scarborough, it is estimated that 6,010 people live with early stage age-related macular degeneration (RNIB).
- By 2030, it is predicted that 32,690 people in North Yorkshire will be living with sight loss – an increase of 39.6% (RNIB).
Fact file
Scarborough Fair originally took place in 1253 and lasted for six weeks, with merchants from all over Europe trading. The fair was held for 500 years and is the basis of the titular song.
Anne Brontë, pictured, is buried in St Mary’s churchyard in Scarborough where she died, instead of in Haworth with the rest of her family. The memorial slab that marks her grave originally stated she died a year younger than she did.
Scarborough’s railway station has the longest station seat in the world, measuring at 152 yards (139m) in length.
The oldest house found in Mesolithic Britain so far was discovered at the Starr Carr site in Scarborough, dated to approximately 850BC.
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