Councillors have been told there are ‘no easy solutions’ for Whitby’s Cliff Lift which has been closed for more than two years.

Whitby Cliff Lift was shut in April 2022 after the discovery of corrosion in its structure with a “steady increase in water ingress” reported by the council.

Members of the Scarborough and Whitby Area Committee are set to discuss possible courses of action at a meeting on Friday, November 29 at Scarborough Town Hall.

While it would be possible to restore the lift to working order, the water ingress and ventilation would continue to be a problem, officers have said.

There is “no easy solution to prevent this” and water ingress also causes more frequent renewal of operational parts to the lift car and mechanisms, meaning that some parts would have to be renewed annually.

Earlier this year, North Yorkshire Council reported that the cost of “solving these issues is estimated at over £1 million”.

RECOMMENDED READING:

The authority has since then commissioned Align Property Partners to carry out surveys and further work “to refine costs”.

The lift would “still require significant ongoing revenue funding for yearly maintenance and parts replacements and the employment cost of a seasonal lift operator”, according to a briefing prepared for members.

Additionally, a ventilation system “needs to be incorporated within the facility to reduce the humidity”.

Council bosses, including the authority’s executive committee, are expected to determine the site’s future at some point but “no formal decision has been made yet”.

The lift, located on the North Terrace, was opened in 1931 and consists of a lift within a vertical shaft running down from the cliff top through the boulder clay, leading to a 221ft long pedestrian tunnel out to the beach.

For the last three years, the council has run a free subsidised bus service over the summer to replace the lift which has historically not generated any income.

Chalet users used to get a free lift pass but this was removed when the charge was dropped and income from non-chalet users has not covered the cost of the lift operator.