£1.35m project to carry out 'essential' repairs to extend the life of Scarborough's west pier

Approval is being sought for the project that will undertake “essential” works on the west pier, which is situated in the south bay of Scarborough harbour.

The works are required following a detailed underwater dive survey which revealed that “accelerated corrosion” has taken place in the walls of the pier, with holes visible in certain parts.

The walls of the pier are constructed with a combination of steel sheet piles to the inner harbour and roundhead and a concrete wall to the outer harbour elevation. The proposed works would focus on the inner steel sheet piles.

A report that has been prepared for an upcoming meeting of the cabinet on Tuesday, November 15, states that the corrosion is “not unexpected” and that the authority has been increasing the amount of funding in harbour reserves in order to prepare “for when the time comes to undertake the repairs”.

The report states that the piles were constructed around 35 years ago and the works are estimated to extend the life of the structure by 10 years “and prevent its failure”.

Financing of the project will be split between different council funds, with £900,000 coming from the authority’s harbour reserves, £150,000 from a capital budget previously earmarked for Scarborough piers, and £300,000 from the council’s capital infrastructure budget identified in the 2022 financial strategy.

Speaking at a full meeting of the authority on Monday, November 7, Cllr Janet Jefferson, the cabinet member for corporate resources, said: “The failure of the structure will significantly impact the harbour operations.

“Therefore, these planned essential works will safeguard our harbour facilities and extend the life of one of our most important assets.”

Consultant Mott MacDonald has been employed to interpret the findings of the surveys and to develop a scheme of repairs.

The west pier is situated in the south bay of Scarborough harbour and is home to the fish market, harbour office, public toilets, and a selection of coastal-related businesses.

Current plans envisage that the strengthening works will start in September 2023 and will be completed by December of that year.