Campaigners Celebrate Reprieve For Whitby Cliff Lift

Campaigners in Whitby are celebrating after North Yorkshire Council backed a motion to investigate the costs of repairing the town's historic cliff lift rather than permanently closing it.

The 95-year-old attraction has been out of action for three years, prompting a petition with over 5,600 signatures to save it.

A report presented to North Yorkshire Council's executive yesterday recommended permanently closing the 95-year-old lift, which has been out of action for three years since corrosion was discovered in 2022.

Council officers had initially recommended adopting a £199,000 plan to seal the lift shaft while retaining the top building, arguing that full repairs, estimated to cost up to £5.5 million, were disproportionate in a challenging financial environment.

However, councillors have instead backed a motion to look into the costs of repairing the lift, following fierce resistance from residents and a petition to save the historic landmark that gathered more than 5,600 signatures.

Whitby Mayor, Town Councillor Sandra Turner, addressed the meeting to call for further investigation.

"Will this committee take into account the long-term financial impact of not reopening that lift.

There's a bigger point of work to be done here, and I do think that a business plan should be coming to the table.

Whitby does draw a significant amount of the tourism income into this county, and I think that alone deserves to be put on this table. So we are looking at factual information, rather than figures plucked out of the air, and looking at the long term business plan around that."

While the lift has been saved from immediate closure, the council is expected to discontinue the free replacement bus service. The service cost over £52,000 to run in 2025, but passenger numbers saw a significant drop, falling to a daily average of just ten people in September.

Whitby Councillor David Chance also spoke at the meeting to highlight the economic importance of the attraction.

"We request that the executive look again at the cliff lift with a view to repairing and reopening.

We ask this as we believe there is a lack of realistic up to date financial costings and information to support a robust decision.

We recommend that the council commissions an up-to-date survey of the cliff lift together with a full costing to bring it back into use, and there is a business case developed to reopen the cliff lift to include an annual maintenance plan for the ongoing cost of operating the lift as a going concern, used for the benefit of residents, visitors and those who are disabled or have hidden impairments which restrict mobility."

Councillors on the executive Committee took notice of the case made by those opposing the lifts closure and rather than approving the closure instead committed the authority to carrying out a further study into the costs of repairing the lift.

Council Leader - Councillor Carl Les said:

"The principal recommendation is that we want to work with Whitby Town Council to try and find a solution that needs further investigation of these costs. So we will agree that we will do that."

Local MP Alison Hume welcomed the decision to undertake a further study into the costs of repairing the lift.

She said:

I’m very pleased North Yorkshire Council has decided to look into what it will cost to repair our historic Whitby Cliff Lift.

Permanently decommissioning it, without undertaking an up-to-date assessment of the work required and associated price, would have been a really premature move given the understandable concerns about the accuracy of the costings which were initially put before members.

The iconic Cliff Lift isn’t just part of the town’s heritage. It is a vital piece of infrastructure too which ensures the beautiful Blue Flag beach below is accessible for all.

This doesn’t mark the end of the battle to save the cliff lift from closure. However, it is an important and sensible step in the right direction.

As someone who used the Cliff Lift myself for countless summer holidays with my children, I know how important it is to local people. The strength of feeling, when it was initially proposed for closure, was testament to that and I commend everyone who has spoken out so eloquently against the closure.

I’m disappointed the replacement bus service is expected to be discontinued although encouraged by the suggestion that alternative provision is being looked at. The beach chalets and beach must be accessible to all.

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