Budget for West Pier wall repairs approved

A £1.8m budget for repairs to the harbour wall of Scarborough's West Pier "to extend its lifespan" has been approved by North Yorkshire Council (NYC).

Contractor Neom Engineering Limited will complete the work, which includes repairing and strengthening the steel sheet-piled wall along the harbour-facing section of the structure.

Councillor Mark Crane acknowledged that while the cost was "significant", the work would last for another 10 years.

"Frankly, if we don't do this, then we face a problem with the harbour and how long it would withstand the pressure of the water," he said.

The estimated cost of the works is £1.2m and any additional project costs, such as those beyond the contractors' control, would be covered by a contingency budget of £546,000.

There is also a £15,000 budget for internal staffing costs associated with the project, but any costs arising above this contingency would be an additional cost to the council, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

As Scarborough Harbour has "limited ability to generate income" if costs were to rise above the overall budget for the project, the ring-fenced account "will therefore effectively be overdrawn," a report presented to the executive noted.

"The project will be technically underwritten by NYC's other reserves and the borrowing from the council's reserves will be repayable to the council when there are sufficient funds available within the Scarborough Harbour account," it said.

The report added that charging interest on the overdrawn balance for the account was not being proposed but that the council reserved the right to revisit this interest assumption "should there be a significant increase in harbour revenues in the future".

After completion of the works, the ongoing maintenance costs would be funded from the existing harbour maintenance budget as and when required, the report concluded.

Councillor Liz Colling, the chair of the Scarborough and Whitby Area Committee said it was a "much needed" project and noted that the funding was "really welcomed".

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