Petition urges council to reopen cliff lift

Councillor Phil Trumper says it's important "people have their views heard"

More than 4,500 people have signed a petition to save Whitby's cliff lift, which has been closed since 2022.

The service was shut after the discovery of structural corrosion and North Yorkshire Council has since requested £600,000 to start "necessary works" at the site including a proposal to fill in the lift.

Phil Trumper, a councillor for the Whitby West ward, said he started the petition to "see how passionate people were" about it.

Karl Battersby, the council's corporate director for environment, said the cost of repairing the lift would be "significant" and may not permanently fix the problem.

Council documents said there was "no consultation proposed in relation to the decision to infill the cliff lift".

However, Trumper said he hoped there would be a "proper public consultation" to ensure that "members of the community can basically say what they want to happen".

"It's important for people to have their say, and the petition is basically highlighting just how important it is to the community," he said.

He said he had spoken with the mining company Anglo American, which had "confirmed that it is willing to send its specialists, with the council's permission, to carry out a further investigation to see if the work to repair the lift could be done at a more efficient price".

The lift on West Cliff provided access to the sea front for visitors

Linda Wild, a member of Whitby Town Council, said closing the lift permanently would "cut off anyone who's not 100% fit or has young children".

"I know elderly people who have got chalets down there and they can't go," she said.

"There are so many people from the community who don't normally comment who are coming forward about the lift."

A free replacement bus service has been running between the lift and the promenade during summer months.

But the arrangements are under review after the council said operating costs were high and too few people were using the bus, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

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