Scalby Ness near Scarborough. Scarborough is a non-metropolitan district and borough of North Yorkshire, England. In addition to the town of Scarborough, it covers a large stretch of the coast of Yorkshire, including Whitby and Filey. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. It was a merger of the urban district of Filey and part of the Bridlington Rural District, from the historic East Riding of Yorkshire, along with the municipal borough of Scarborough, Scalby and Whitby urban districts, and Scarborough Rural District and Whitby Rural District, from the historic North Riding. The Borough is threatened with extinction. In March 2007 North Yorkshire County Council was shortlisted by the Department for Communities and Local Government to be a unitary authority. If the bid is successful then the Borough of Scarborough will -- along with all other districts and boroughs in the present county of North Yorkshire -- be abolished.