Whitby Civic Society wants your views on which buildings should be classed as local heritage assets

The society has also asked the question ‘does the town have any local heritage assets in particularly buildings which need recognising and maybe protecting?’

Local heritage assets can range from buildings, designed landscapes, archaeology and elements of the natural environment which have not already been listed.

Some people may say Whitby already have lots of listed buildings, but these tend to cover sites built before the early 1900s.

One of the more iconic buildings with an interesting past is The Metropole. This building acts as a landmark when approaching Whitby on the Pickering Road.

The Metropole has an interesting history as a hotel as well as the base for 52nd Training Regiment RA in World War Two.

During an air raid on the night of September 6, 1942, Gunner Robert Watmore aged 19 from Newbridge, Nr Edinburgh, serving with his regiment and acting as the guard on duty in the car park received a direct hit and was killed instantly.

He became the only British soldier to be killed in Whitby by enemy action in the Second World War and a war memorial to this soldier can be seen in the adjoining building’s garden at Welton Court, North Promenade.

A society spokesman said: “Do you have any details of the history of this location or photographs of the Metropole so we can put together a history of this iconic building?

“If you have please contact us via Whitby Civic Society Facebook, Twitter, or our email address [email protected], or come and speak to members once we are holding our regular talks at The Coliseum.

“Heritage lists play an essential role in building and reinforcing a sense of local character and distinctiveness in the historic environment and this is one of Whitby’s major strengths which keeps people flocking to the town to see its unique history and one we need to maintain and enhance.”