Harbour campaign group wins legal battle

A campaign group has won a 10-year legal battle to get their council to pay for urgent repairs to Whitby harbour.

The Fight4Whitby group spent more than £100,000 on their case, which claimed North Yorkshire Council was failing to use funds generated by the harbour to support its maintenance.

The High Court ruled in their favour, agreeing with lead campaigner Sue Boyce that an act from 1905 still stands.

North Yorkshire Council said it was "disappointed" by the decision and would now "consider its next steps".

Mrs Boyce carried out her own research and previously told the BBC that "tens of millions of pounds needs to be spent to strengthen the piers otherwise flooding and depredation will be widespread."

Fellow campaigner John Freeman said Mrs Boyce had even cashed in her premium bonds to help fund the campaign.

Speaking after the victory, Mr Freeman said: "It was such overwhelming relief when we got the message that the judge had at last found totally in our favour."

He said it had "vindicated" what Mrs Boyce and the rest of the group had fought for.

The harbour generates revenue from visiting vessels, berths and moorings and car parking charges on the land it owns.

"All this money from harbour land, was not in actual fact going to where it should have been going according to the 1905 Act of Parliament, which Scarborough Borough Council [now North Yorkshire Council] said didn't count anymore," Mr Freeman said.

"The judge said 'oh yes it does'.

"Therefore, all that money that has been earned on harbour land must go into the harbour for further repairs and work."

James Cole, chair of Whitby Commercial Fishing Association, said: "Only last year we lost 10-15 days because of the lack of dredging in the harbour.

"We can't lay our boats alongside this fish quay because of the dereliction and the damage it has caused, so we are sometimes stuck above the bridge.

"It is affecting our business."

North Yorkshire Council's corporate director of environment, Karl Battersby, said: "We are disappointed by the decision, which has taken many months to be handed down.

"We are reviewing the decision in detail and considering our next steps.

"The decision will have no impact on our goal to promote a thriving harbour in Whitby and invest in its future."

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