1993

1993

In 1993, Lodge Court was completed, which was to become an extension to St Peter's Court. North Housing bought these off Marshall Construction. Also on the housing front, numbers 1-4 Birch Grove, Sleights were built in this year, replacing pre-fabricated houses on the site, dating from the late 1950's, which were built when this area of Birch Avenue was built. As well as the houses on Birch Grove, 52-59 & all subsequent odd numbers up to & including 71 Birch Avenue were redeveloped as part of the works. Planning permission was passed in 1986 for the refurbishment of these houses. Also, sometime around this year, Ice Flow, formerly Artic King, in Clarence House, Baxtergate closed down, soon to become the Food Weighhouse. Further afield in Danby, a bakery which was to become well known over the coming years as ‘Stonehouse Bakery’. In February, the bird aviary in Pannett Park was removed. The shed was demolished & the birds were sold. It was situated at the top of the park near the museum & the children's play equipment. Also in February, work started to combat corrosion of Whitby's 40 year old fish quay. 25 street lamps were to be replaced with Victorian-style lights in St Ann's Staith, Haggersgate, Pier Road & Khyber Pass. In Sleights, the Doctors Surgery at Ingham Close was closed, after a new surgery was built around this time near St. John's Church at Iburndale Lane, aptly named 'Churchfield Surgery'. In Lythe in February, on the 12th to be precise, contractors moved in to de-grease the road surface on Lythe Bank, after a spate of accidents.

Above left: The Food Weighhouse at Clarence House, Baxtergate, previously Ice Flow frozen food shop;
Centre: Top part of St Peter's Court showing Lodge Hill Close; Right: Looking down in the new part of St Peter's Court, which was all built in 1993

Left: The former home of Sleights Doctors Surgery at Ingham Close, now the community centre; Right: Churchfield Surgery, Sleights, opened around this year

In the early part of this year, an old stone footpath by Castle Park that ran up to Ewe Cote and on to Aislaby & Newholm was covered. Concern was raised over the fact that the path was now 2-3 feet lower than the road surface, which had been re-surfaced a number of times. Rather than lift the stone slabs and risk breaking them, the decision was made to just cover it with gravel and top it with flag stones off St Hilda's Terrace, which had recently been re-paved.

In March, a new bridge was built in Danby to protect Duck Bridge from usage. More locally, the second phase of Keepers Court on Crescent Avenue was completed. Also in Crescent Avenue, a change of use was granted to number 15, where it was changed from a residential property to a Care Home for the Mentally Handicapped, the owner of which owned next door and was used for a similar purpose. A store at Wilf Noble's, Ruswarp burnt to the ground, when controlled burning spread to the heavily creosoted wooden store. On 29th March, Robin Hood's Bay Surgery opened it's doors, following a move from just across the road on Mount Pleasant. A fish processing business was partially demolished by a land slip of Whitby's East Cliff. Nobles store room was to be completely demolished as it was unsafe to use, and permission was granted to build a temporary store, which could be there for 5 years.

In April, 19 Royal Crescent, was sold at long last by the council, which closed as a care home at the end of 1991. On 3rd April, Trinity Activity Hall was opened in the hall behind the Trinity United Reformed Church. More than £200,000 was spent on the refurbishment, the hall offered all sorts of indoor sports, and stood at a lower level than the church. Also in April, a single storey extension was approved for the Windmill Inn at Stainsacre to provide a beer cellar. Also for quite a large part of the first part of 1993, sewerage was leaking into the harbour from the East side, coming out wherever it could, which sometimes was through the harbour walls. The fault was found and repaired ready for May Day Bank Holiday.

In May, Whitby Town Centre was tidied up a bit, with the mini-roundabout at the junction with Station Square & Windsor Terrace being removed, and a T junction installed, with a right turn lane added for traffic turning into Windsor Terrace. The area in front of the railway station was paved, and railings were added around the edge, to protect pedestrians from the road. The pedestrian crossing from the railway station across New Quay Road had tactile paving installed as in a number of places around the town, with dropped kerbs to make it easier for the partially sited.

In July, a seven new industrial units were completed at Hinderwell, at a cost of £500,000, on the site of the old railway sidings. In Spring the Donkey Road, the surface of which is believed to date from the 14th century, was lifted and replaced coble-by-coble, so that Northern Electric could dig a trench to allow them to lay cabling. Also, in time for the summer season, the toilets on Abbey Plain were demolished and temporary, portable toilets were brought in. In July, the Hostel was re-opened after a refurbishment and also at Abbey Plain, a stone was laid, decorated & sculpted by Vivien Mousell in her Lythe studio. Weighing in at over a tonne, the stone came from Blue Bank Quarry. Also in July, a U boat was found by divers 3 miles off the Whitby coast in 160 feet of water. The 'UB30' was found with the 20 carcasses of the 20 crew that were onboard at the time it sank, in the First World War. Also in July, the Hopper Barge, part of the new dredging system, 'Sandsend' was docked at Whitehall Shipyard for a survey by the Department of Transport. It was the first vessel on the shipyard for 8 years. In football, Whitby Town F.C's promotion into the Northern Premier League was blocked by the F.A. The club already had upgraded the ground, which had to be done to meet Northern Premier League standard, which included fitting plastic seats in the main stand, which previous to this had bare wooden benches. In August, Whitehall Shipyard Nightclub was gutted by fire. Closed 10 years previous, East of Spital Bridge, built in the 19th century, it was originally a warehouse. The building was bought by Scarborough Borough Council in 1985. On the 9th August, the new dredging system, 'Saltwick' & 'Sandsend' was in operation, at a cost of £268,000.

Whitehall Shipyard during & after the fire in August 1993

Dredge Esk in Whitby Harbour before being decommissioned & Saltwick & Sandsend operating in Whitby shortly after arriving

In September, the University of Hull got a new outpost in Whitby, on the top floor of the Mission building in Haggersgate, built in early 18th century. The building was taken over by Whitby Mission to Seamen in 1895. The number of classes in Whitby under the university had grown dramatically recently, growing from 2 to 11 classes, spread at different premises throughout the town. A new water main was installed in Stainsacre. On 20th September, the swing bridge swung too far when the eastern leaf hit the Dolphin pub. The bridge was supposed to be closing again, but instead it went the other way, smashing a teak bay window. The problem was caused by a faulty valve in the back-up system. In the Autumn Term of 1993, Whitby School had a change of name to Whitby Community College.

In October, Sandsend residents got an upgrade to their telephone exchange. It was upgraded to digital and meant calls could now be traced. It meant numbers beginning 83XXX became 893XXX. The Co-op store, which opened in 1991, had its 'Handibank' service withdrawn. It was to be replaced by a cash machine.

In November, the Larches Farm at Summerfield Lane, Stainsacre had planning permission approved to build a self-contained annex. In December, the council agreed to pay for the repairs, which were started immediately, to the roof of the Workingmen's Club (now the Resolution), on the corner of Flowergate & Skinner Street. The roof, which was deemed as unsafe, had to be repaired, as ordered by magistrates, or the building would have to have been demolished. Also in November, Whistle Stop Tea Rooms were opened in the town’s station buildings, accessed from the outside.

In December, Whitehall Shipyard was sold for £700,000 by Scarborough Borough Council, after buying it in 1985, to Yorkshire Water, which would use it as Sewerage treatment works & housing.