A decision on the future of Whitby’s Cliff Lift is set to be made in the next few months by North Yorkshire Council.
Council bosses are due to make a decision on whether to permanently close the landmark cliff lift by this spring, after more than 5,600 people signed a petition to save it.
The lift on Whitby’s North Terrace, which opened in 1931, has been out of service since 2022 due to corrosion and water ingress, with repair costs estimated at £5.5m.
A deadline for a decision by NYC’s executive committee has been set for St Patrick’s Day on Tuesday, March 17.
A council report published last autumn stated that while bringing the lift back into service would be “desirable to the community of Whitby, [it] would add to the council’s financial burden and reduce funding that would be available for other higher priorities”.
North Yorkshire Council said it would invite mining company Anglo American, which helped the authority assess the lift’s current condition, to further investigate the impact of water damage over the winter period.
The 94-year-old facility consists of a lift within a vertical shaft running down from the cliff top through the boulder clay, leading to a 221ft (67m) pedestrian tunnel out to the beach.
For the last four years, the council has run a free subsidised bus service to replace the lift, which has historically not generated any income.
If the cliff lift was repaired, a season lift operator would have to be employed for five months between May and September, at a cost of £13,000 a year.
Several options have been proposed, including decommissioning the lift and retaining the top building, which would cost around £200,000.
However, officers have recommended that the council decommission the lift and remove the top building at a cost of £232,000.
“This option involves the removal of the top section of lift equipment to ensure the system is safe.
”A reinforced concrete capping slab would be required to close off the top of the main shaft.”
North Yorkshire Council said it was “aware that prior to its closure the lift was a useful and a much-loved heritage asset by the people of Whitby and its visitors,” which was “further demonstrated” by the online petition to save the Cliff Lift, which has gathered 5,600 signatures.
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