Closed cliff lift staff say they feel 'forgotten'

Staff working on one of Scarborough's most popular attractions have said they feel "sad and unvalued" and "forgotten about" after it was closed for urgent repairs.

The Victorian Spa Cliff Lift was shut in August after engineers identified a number of safety issues.

Thomas Murray, mayor of Scarborough, said he was "appalled" by the way staff had been treated, and urged North Yorkshire Council to "do right by the employees".

North Yorkshire Council's corporate director of community development, Nic Harne, said the authority had spoken to staff about alternative duties and opportunities within Scarborough Spa itself.

The Victorian era lift was shut on 21 August after an engineering assessment identified issues with its infrastructure and critical components.

North Yorkshire Council said an update would be given following an assessment of what work was needed and what the costs would be.

Claire Wynne-Riley, who has worked on the Spa Cliff Lift for about three years, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): "We all love working on the lift. It's the people and the service we deliver.

"Just to leave us high and dry, it's quite a sad situation to be in, really. You don't feel valued."

Wynne-Riley said that "because we are on zero-hours contracts and the uncertainty, there may be no staff left when the lift reopens".

She said she had effectively been made unemployed following the lift's closure, and described having heard "absolutely nothing from anybody".

"We've just been forgotten about," she said.

Wynne-Riley added that she and other staff had been "left in limbo" by North Yorkshire Council and that she has raised an HR complaint with the authority.

"It's not just a case of looking after the asset. You need to look after the staff on the asset because that is really important," she said.

"We've got the knowledge and the experience. We have a member of staff that's been here 27 years."

Murray told the LDRS: "Staff are on zero-hours contracts, so they're not getting any money now that they're out of work while it's been closed.

"You're going to start to see employees that have been there for over two decades start to leave their employment because they need to feed their families."

People living nearby have previously said the "lifeline" cliff lift needed to be reopened as quickly as possible as Scarborough continued to celebrate its 400th anniversary as the original seaside resort.

At a meeting of Scarborough Town Council, members said they would write to North Yorkshire Council to ask for it to urgently set out a timeline for the lift's reopening.

Harne told the LDRS: "The cliff lift's staff are employed on relief-hour contracts rather than zero-hours contracts.

"Where colleagues are consistently working regular hours, we consider opportunities to provide greater certainty through contracted hours, where appropriate.

"Once we have established a timetable for the necessary works, we will continue to work closely with staff and provide regular updates."

Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire Council, said: "We know how much affection people have for the Scarborough Spa Cliff Lift and the important role it plays in the town's heritage and identity.

"We are continuing to assess the lift following its closure last month after an engineering assessment identified issues affecting its infrastructure and critical components.

"We are now building a clearer understanding of the work that may be needed and the likely costs involved.

"We hope to provide more details in the coming weeks before a formal decision is made on any future programme of repairs."

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