Council To Proceed with Scarborough West Pier £1.8m Repair

Saturday, 16 August 2025 06:00

By Anttoni James Numminen, LDRS

This despite criticism of a ‘short-sighted’ approach.

North Yorkshire Council will not reconsider its decision to approve £1.8m repairs to Scarborough’s West Pier after a challenge by coastal councillors.

At a meeting on Monday, August 11, NYC’s overview and scrutiny committee blocked a challenge by coastal councillors who said the plan to repair Scarborough’s West Pier was short-sighted and that alternative options were not considered.

The cross-party committee concluded that NYC’s executive committee, which unanimously approved the repair plan, had appropriately considered various options and the “urgent” works should go ahead.

Coun Janet Jefferson, who represents the Castle division, said:

“We need a lasting legacy for Scarborough Harbour and we need security for 50 years, not 10. Instead, we seem to have more questions than answers.”

Coun Jefferson had advocated for the full replacement of the West Pier’s piles, which North Yorkshire Council estimated would have cost £5m.

She told the committee:

“The stabilisation of West Pier and the installation of replacement steel sheet piling will extend the life of the pier by 50 years, which is so vital to our fishing and leisure craft industry, and indeed the town’s economy.”

However, Coun Mark Crane, the executive member for open to business, said the authority could not currently afford more extensive repairs and that a contractor was ready to begin work, whereas a new plan could take up to a year to approve.

He said:

“I can tell you that if we were spending £1.8m in Selby, the people of Selby would be very grateful, and probably not suggesting that we spend another £25 million on top of it.

“Let’s be clear, the decision we’ve made is to strengthen the West Pier and to keep it good for another 10 years.”

Of the 150 piles in the West Pier, 15 currently have holes that need to be repaired to prevent further corrosion, according to Chris Bourne, the head of harbours.

He said:

“As the tide comes in, the size of the voids [in the piles] grows, and those piles have got about three years’ life left in them.”

“Those holes need filling as soon as possible, and the plates welding over to stop the loss of material from behind – that needs to happen ASAP.

“So, you need to implement this £1.8 million scheme to buy you ten years to work on your next scheme, which is to reinforce the pier, and it could be to expand the pier as well.”

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) after the meeting, Coun Jefferson described the decision to proceed with the repairs as “short-sighted”.

Coun Phil Trumper said:

“The last thing we want to see is the West Pier out of use and closed, and I think it does seem very important to get this work done very quickly.

“If we don’t, then the West Pier will be closed, and that’s the last thing we need.”

Did you find this article useful?

This is the Coast is committed to providing a daily local news service for the Yorkshire Coast. We are a small locally owned and operated business which employs professional journalists and reporters. We do not receive any public funding or grants and we are entirely funded by our local commercial operations. We enjoy fabulous support from local businesses who work with us on their advertising and marketing campaigns, but the cost of providing high quality, well researched, fact checked local news coverage is significant.

If you appreciate what This is the Coast does, and would like to help support our journalism, please consider supporting us on a monthly basis today.

A small contribution from all our readers would really help support independent journalism for the Yorkshire Coast.