More than £60,000 could be spent on a plan to replace Whitby’s famous Whale Bone Arch.
After plans to replace the arch with like-for-like real whale bones were abandoned, North Yorkshire Council has said that replicas could cost £60,000, depending on the materials used.
The popular landmark has stood at the top of West Cliff for more than 170 years, but despite being replaced in 2002, the structure is deteriorating.
Current options include coating the bones in glass-reinforced plastic, sourcing plastic replicas, and sourcing a stainless steel replacement, with costs ranging from £20,000 to £60,000.
The most expensive and durable option would be to cast replacements in bronze, according to a report by the council.
The bronze would have “an indefinite lifespan and a patina that will develop over time – this option would also do away with the timber bottom fixing that exists currently, and they would appear to sit directly on the ground,” the council said.
The cost of the bronze replicas would be approximately £60,000.
Coating the current bones in reinforced plastic would “not offer a long-term solution as the bones would continue to decay and may have a limited lifespan”, costing around £30,000.
Replacements made from glass reinforced plastic (GPR) would offer “life-like” replicas, but the council said it was concerned about the long-term effect of UV radiation and noted that “there is also the question of whether they would have less of an impact and social value being made from plastic”.
The GRP replica would have a lifespan of around 50 years and would cost approximately £40,000.
Replicas carved from a hardwood would likely have a lifespan of around 100 years and would cost in the region of £20,000.
Meanwhile, replicas made from stainless steel mesh, similar to the existing sculptures sited around Whitby’s town centre as part of the Heritage Trail would come with a price tag of approximately £30,000.
All options to source genuine replacement bones had been “exhausted”, according to the town’s mayor Sandra Turner.
The last replacement bones came from Whitby’s twin town of Barrow in Alaska after a worldwide appeal.
The whale was said to have been killed legally by the state’s native Inuit population in 1996.
North Yorkshire Council said it had received “no response from representatives in Alaska, and even if some were to be offered, there are ethical and legal challenges”.
The report notes that the Whale Bone Arch is owned and managed by NYC and the town council is being consulted as a local stakeholder representing community views.
However, decisions regarding replacement, design, procurement, or funding rest with North Yorkshire Council, it adds.
Members of Whitby Town Council are set to discuss the report and findings at a full meeting on Tuesday, March 3, at the Pannett Art Gallery.
Members of the public have been invited to attend.
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