Councillors challenge Scarborough West Pier repair plan over legal and financial concerns
Coastal councillors have challenged a £1.8m plan to repair Scarborough’s West Pier over concerns that alternative options were not considered.
North Yorkshire Council’s approval of a £1.8m budget for repairs to the harbour wall of Scarborough’s West Pier to extend its lifespan has been called in by councillors who are concerned that alternative options have not been considered.
Members of the authority’s executive committee said they believed “the sheeting under the harbour will last for another 10 years” if repairs went ahead.
However, Coun Janet Jefferson, who represents the Castle division on NYC, which includes the West Pier, said: “I am calling in this Executive Decision because I do not believe that NYC’s executive were made aware within the legacy harbour project of the alternative option of replacing sheet piling and extending life from 10 to 50 years.”
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Coun Jefferson said she has been involved with Scarborough’s harbour since 1999, including with the now-defunct Scarborough Borough Council.
The official call-in for the decision was supported by councillors Michelle Donohue-Moncrieff, Stuart Parsons, Phillip Barrett, John McCartney, and Andy Solloway.
The call-in also highlights potential legal implications following a recent High Court ruling in favour of campaigners who claimed North Yorkshire Council failed to use funds generated by Whitby Harbour to support its maintenance.
Coun Jefferson questioned whether “the decision to move ring-fenced legacy reserves from Scarborough Harbour into general reserves [is] open to challenge in the light of the Whitby Harbour ruling?”
A report presented to the executive on July 16, when the funding for the repair works was approved, notes that “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 added: “Based on the current forecast of the ringfenced account, the repayment is unlikely to happen for some time, and so it is not proposed that interest is charged on the overdrawn balance.”
Coun Jefferson has also asked the council to “confirm it is progressing new opportunities for income generation and sustainability of the harbour, such as offshore wind energy and the introduction of a boat hoist.”
Council officers said they were developing a report in response to the call-in and a meeting of the corporate and partnerships overview and scrutiny committee is due to discuss the matter in August.