Whitby's mayor has said she will ‘not sit back’ over a proposal to permanently close the town’s landmark cliff lift.
“Not a done deal,” is how Cllr Sandra Turner, the Mayor of Whitby, has described the North Yorkshire Council (NYC) plan to permanently close Whitby Cliff Lift, which comes despite strong local objections, including a petition with more than 5,600 signatures calling for it to be saved.
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 £5.5 million.
A deadline for a decision by NYC’s executive committee has been set for 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”.
Cllr Turner said:
“A final decision hasn’t been made and we have been very strong in our objections to the cliff lift being closed.”
She said that Whitby Town Council would be revisiting the issue later this month.
“We are not prepared to sit back and say, ‘oh, well, never mind, that’s a done deal’, because it certainly isn’t in our eyes,”
Cllr Turner was also critical of NYC’s decision not to hold a public consultation on the future of the cliff lift, despite requests from residents and politicians.
A consultation on the future of the replacement bus service is, however, due to be discussed.
A report by NYC notes that “any public consultation would overwhelmingly support the reopening of the lift, and any future decision by the executive will be taken within this context”.
Cllr Turner said:
“I do think that we should have been consulted further. I think there should have been a body of work done before that decision was taken.
“We’re driving that [issue] forward as a complete council and we all feel in the same vein.”
NYC 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.”
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