Yet another SBC start date for repairs to Whitby Piers

SBC has given yet another start date of later ‘this year’ and even ‘possibly as soon as July’ for the long awaited repairs to Whitby’s crumbling Piers. This work would NOT include the vital Pier Extensions, which protect the Piers themselves.

They were warned about the state of the Piers in a Scarborough Borough Council (SBC) survey in 2002, with further warnings from additional surveys in 2009 and again in 2012. Yet SBC’s promised start dates have been pushed back many, many times: from July 2011 to April 2015, then to July 2017 and then again until April 2018.

Now in May 2018, SBC has just announced yet another start date of later this year – with, of course, a break in any work over the winter months.

A major storm causing a breach of Whitby’s Piers or their Extensions would risk the closure of our harbour to fishing, angling and leisure craft AND to our Lifeboat station. In addition, over 500 properties would be at greater risk of flooding and our tourism industry devastated.

IF work actually begins in the next couple of months it would be very good news, but it is unlikely that it would have happened without pressure from Fight4Whitby. The work on the Piers is only the start – far more work is also required. The bridge to the East Pier Extension is a key Health and Safety issue, yet it has been missing for 17 years. The 2 Extensions also require urgent work, as they shield the main Piers from 50% of wave energy. Just how decrepit the Extensions are is unknown, since SBC has not carried out the dive inspections at 5-year intervals, as recommended by the 2012 report. The Extensions repair work is estimated to cost far more than the £9m work on the Piers themselves.

Would YOU wait patiently for the latest start date to finally arrive as recently promised – or would you just get on with the newly worded Town Poll about leaving SBC?

Please visit www.Fight4Whitby.com for all the details and background information.

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