Whitby

In Living Memory

2000

At the turn of the year, work was on-going on the new sewerage system for Whitby. During the year, Woodland's Nursing Home near Sleights, which closed in 1999, was being converted into luxury apartments for Esk Investments Ltd. Also in this year, work on a mini-roundabout was started at the foot of Chubb Hill at its junction with Downdinner Hill & Bagdale, which was a 'T' junction until this time, with a left turn and right turn lane at the bottom of Chubb Hill and a right turn lane to access Chubb Hill from Bagdale, with South End Gardens being a junction on its own off Chubb Hill. Because Yorkshire Water had been working in this area, when they had finished their work, they had an obligation to put it all back as it was before the work. North Yorkshire County Council was hoping that Yorkshire Water would contribute something towards the cost of the junction improvement. This year also saw the start of work on creating the Skelton & Brotton by-pass, which was to become the new part of the A174. It was also around this year that the old electricity board buildings in Church Street, opposite the junction with Green Lane were demolished, to make way for a development of small houses, known as 'Abraham's Quay'.

Electricity Board buildings ready for demolition; Right: Abraham's Quay

Also on the housing development front, a terrace of house to be called 'Sycamore Court', were built on land next to Byland Road. Also on Byland Road in this year, a new 20mph speed limit was installed from these houses to beyond Stakesby School, to make it the first 20mph limit in the town & in North Yorkshire. Four speed bumps were also installed a short time later in Byland Road outside Stakesby School.

Sycamore Court looking up Byland Road; 20mph speed limit & 4 speed humps installed in Byland Road;

In January, 3 signs were erected at the 3 entrances into Ugglebarnby, which were sandstone blocks with a cast iron nameplate, depicting the past & present. The nameplate with a black background had the words 'Ugglebarnby 2000 AD', with 2 Yorkshire roses and an owl. The owl represented a settler who arrived in the village in Norse times and his name translated as 'Owl beard'. The stone was bought from Eskdale Stone, with the help of North Yorkshire Moors National Park, and the signs were from a Mr. Nicholson of Forty Foot Road, Middlesbrough. The materials for the footings were donated by Noble Construction of Whitby.

One of the signs on the entrance to Ugglebarnby

Work was complete on Loftus Bank, which was undertaken by a specialist design company, following the landslip in the previous February. This meant that the main work of rebuilding the road could get underway, at a cost of £1.25M. A sewer had to be diverted, which ran under a stream and a small shelf was created for small animals. A culvert was filled over to form a base for an embankment, which was built up to carry the new road. Whilst the work was going on, a bailey bridge was installed to span the landslip, allowing the weight restriction to be removed, which meant in turn, bus services could return to normal, for now at least, but with a one-way system still in operation. The final stages of the work were complete by the end of September. For the final 9 weeks of the work, the road was closed to traffic and a lengthy diversion was put in place, via the A171. A shorter diversion was possible for local drivers of small vehicles via Skinningrove Bank Road. The road had to be be lowered 7 metres and a 60 metre-long, 7 metre-high retaining wall was built. Much of the infill materials used to rebuild the valley walls were brought in from the excavations being carried out in creating the Skelton & Brotton by-pass

Also in January, archaeologists discovered a 250 year-old coble, beneath the dry dock they discovered in 1998, beneath Church Street car park. A rectangular building, dating from 657-870AD, was also uncovered at the Abbey headland under Old Cholmley House.

Also in this month, new signs were installed on Lythe Bank, which stated a maximum advisory speed limit of 20mph. The signs, bright orange with a logo of a car slipping were installed near the top of the bank, as an anti-skid surface was installed a couple of years previous near the bottom of the bank, but funds didn't allow the surface to be installed at the top as well. The new signs replaced old warning signs, only installed several months previous. Arriva axed the 8:50am bus to Fylingthorpe, causing much anger amongst parents with children at Hawsker School, as they used the bus to get their children to school.

In February, the scouts hall on Spring Hill was refurbished. The hall, dating back to the 1930's, was used by Scouts, Cubs, Beavers & Guides as well as being the meeting place for a play group, Apollo players, local bands & other community groups. It was thought to originally be in the gardens of a house, and was used by the Territorial Army until 1969, when Scout Group bought it. The refurbishment included a new central heating system & roof insulation, as well as new toilets and new windows. The cost of the work was £24,000, with £7,000 granted from Yorventure.

Also in February, houses were completed at the top end of Westbourne Road, to mark the beginning of the new estate that was to be built on the old Sneaton Castle playing field site. The new estate was to be called Castle Links and landscaping work on the main part of the estate was started around this time.

Extension to Westbourne Road

Yorkshire Water built a control kiosk in Pier Road, near Marine Parade. A listed building in Marine Parade had signs of structural weakness, and so as not to potentially disturb the building, a sewer had to be placed in a shallow trench. This required an underground pumping station with an above ground pumping station kiosk, to house the pump in a sealed chamber. The building was 3.6m long by 1.2m deep and was 2.2m high. It was made of textured glass & reinforced plastic.

It was reported that Scarborough Borough Council sold Robin Hood's Bay Coal Yard to the existing occupier & also the old Mount School building in Whitby. Money was also gained through compensation due to the on-going works in the town centre & Robin Hood's Bay, in connection with the new sewerage system.

Work was started on a project to replace pipe lines in the main sewage pipe from Ruswarp pumping station, installing new pipes in the ground beside the River Esk. Pipes ran up past Captain Cook's Holiday Village, past Caedmon School & to Bog Hall, where they joined the towns sewage system. Other works that were on-going at this time were the upgrading of water treatment works at Sneaton & connecting the water pipes to the surrounding villages. This scheme was completed in June.

A quarry at Sleights Moor, Lowther's Cragg, was opened up again on a 2-year trial basis, after being closed for many years. This 2-year trial was extended however, and in 2004, it was given another 'temporary' trial of 2 years. Scarborough Borough Council upgraded the backstage of Whitby Pavilion. The work included installing a new grid above the stage, incorporating pulleys, ropes, curtain tracks & bars, that could be used to hang lighting & to change scenery.

The maternity unit at Whitby Hospital was temporarily closed while it was revamped in works lasting 3 months. This meant that under-utilised space could be turned into offices, and also allowed Social Services to move in, from their previous home, Eskholme. It meant that the bed numbers were reduced from 8 to 6. Fusco's restaurant in Pier Road had the entrance to the fun house changed, with roller doors being replaced with timber, folding doors and a new shop front with a serving hatch was also created. The ice-cream kiosk also had new timber stall risers installed.

Also in February, Green Lane was closed at its junction with Church Street, due to work by Yorkshire Water. This created a lengthy diversion to get into the town centre for residents of that area. Also at this time, Whitby Library users could surf the web for the first time, after it went online.

In March & April, Forester's Yard off Church Street had paving & concrete replaced with paving slabs, after the surface had become badly cracked. The £22,000 scheme was paid for jointly by Scarborough Borough Council, North Yorkshire County Council & The Heritage Lottery Fund. On March 18th, a sweet shop in Grape Lane, owned by Julia Whippey, closed its doors for the last time.

The decision was taken in December of the previous year to purchase a new ice house, after 3 years of campaigning. The ice house was installed at Pier Road, costing £300,000, after the old one was reported as being past its sell by date. March also saw the approval of plans for the Boatsman's Shelter on Khyber Pass to be converted into 2 flats & 6 shop units. The first-floor flats were made possible by making the roof 50cm higher. Work was started around the end of May and was undertaken by A.K. Construction. Yorkshire Water paid £1,000 for a new bus shelter in Sandsend, to replace the old one which blew down in storms in January 1999.

Boatsman's Shelters, Khyber Pass become 6 shops and 2 flats

For more photos of the Boatsman's Shelters development, click here

In April, Mr & Mrs Turner were to build 2 shop fronts into the former Co-op building on Wellington Road. The building was to house 4 separate retail units. A temporary ice-cream kiosk was installed at Whitby Abbey car park, until the new Visitor Centre & Cafe were open. Permission was given to Graeme Buckle to convert a former bakery & diving shop in Helredale Road into a funeral directors & chapel of rest with residential accommodation above. St. Hilda's Court was officially complete by April, built for Tees Valley Housing Group by Harrison Builders. The development, on land off Green Lane & The Ropery, had 1 & 2 bed room apartments, with four 3 bed room houses.

Graeme Buckle Funeral Directors, Helredale Road; St. Hilda's Court, from Green Lane; St. Hilda's Court, from the rear

In May, a project to stabilise the East Cliff and reinstate access to the East Pier got underway. The project involved shipping in 500 tonne loads of rock armour, which came mainly from Scandinavia, and removing the Spa Ladder, creating a causeway between the Haggerlythe & the East Pier. The project, similar to the one completed a few months earlier at Runswick Bay, cost £1.3M. The final rocks were shipped in in September, taking the total weight to 3,500 tonnes. The West Sky delivered them and tipped them from the barge 'Tapi'. 54,000 tonnes were brought in from Espevik Quay, and these rocks were also to be used on the Robin Hood's Bay Coastal Protection Scheme. Also at this time, Arriva decided to move some bus services from the bus station to Langborne Road, which had no shelters and was already over-congested at times. This meant that taxis were no longer allowed to park in the temporary rank near the Co-op on Langborne Road, so were moved to New Quay Road.

Spa Ladder before removal; Showing the rock armour in place at the foot of the cliff; After removal

For more photos of the Spa Ladder project, please click here

June saw the launch of the Whitby Gazette Tuesday edition, which was to be published as well as the Friday edition. Also Whitby hospital was fitted with 9 C.C.T.V. cameras & recording equipment. Work on West Cliff was drawing to a close, after re-paving had been carried out near Captain Cook's Statue. £500,000 was spent in around a year, sprucing up Whitby, including the re-building of the bandstand and tidying up of the area and also new paving, lights & seats at Tate Hill, the latter, part of the Haggerlythe Environmental Improvement Works, was to coincide with the Harbour Development Plan, both due for completion at the same time.

Left & Centre: Old bandstand after high winds blew the roof off, before it was due to be knocked down & replaced; Right: New bandstand being built with new paving & bollards

Thursday 22nd June saw a milestone reached for the town. The date was the official switch on day for Whitby's new sewerage pumping station at Endeavour Wharf, which meant sewage would now get pumped to the Broomfield Farm treatment plant, instead of out to sea, as it did in the past. It was the first of 3 sites to be completed in Yorkshire Water's £120M Coast Care scheme, £30M of which went into the Whitby water treatment project. In July, Yorkshire Water put Whitehall Shipyard on the market, after using the site to store materials in their 2 year-long work in the town, after buying the former shipyard in the early 90's. The next pumping station to be put into action was Sandsend, which cost £2M to complete. This would pump sewage to the Broomfield Farm treatment plant near Stainsacre. It was only a matter of time though before teething problems occurred. Raw sewage was leaking out into the harbour, near the eastern side of the swing bridge. After investigations, the problem was apparently a faulty valve in the pumping station and a faulty seal on a sewer cover. This meant a chamber at Church Street, filled up causing the collection chamber to fill up at Endeavour Wharf, causing sewage to come out into the harbour. They then brought in 2 pumps to pump both chambers out so they could then carry out the necessary work. The sewage from the 2 chambers was pumped down the extended old out fall pipe, and out to sea, which used to happen in the old system. Staithes also had problems with sewage, but there it was spewing out of drains on to the main road through the village, which had happened a number of times. It was reported that it was due to a recurring blockage. The pumping station in Robin Hood's Bay was also completed in July, and Yorkshire Water paid for steps to be installed in Robin Hood's Bay, down to the Tracy Hutchinson play area. The work was undertaken by the main contractor working on the Coast Care scheme, Morrison Construction, and was done to thank the residents of Robin Hood's Bay for being so understanding during the works in the village. Also built around this time, involving the pumping station was the extension to the Tourist Information Centre in Dock End and the building to house the Harbour Port Services Offices, which was built further down Langborne Road than their previous offices, having had to be demolished to make way for the pumping station. The Scoresby statue was moved back to its rightful home after spending a period of time in front of the railway station, to allow for the works to be carried out by Yorkshire Water. Also around this time, Botham's on Baxtergate had a new cooling system fitted, which was installed by Spa Electrical with work taking around a week to complete

Left: Yorkshire Water sewerage pumping station, Dock End & extension to Tourist Information Centre, also showing the Scoresby statue, back in place; Harbour Office, Langborne Road, built around this year

At the end of the school year, Chris Cowell, who had been head teacher of Caedmon School since 1985, retired after ill-health. Mr Cowell had been off sick quite a lot throughout the year so had taken the decision to leave. Deputy head, Duncan Taylor, stepped up as acting head teacher.

 Also around this time, some building work was complete on the Brunswick Methodist Church in Brunswick Street, bought in 1997 in a poor state of repair, by David Grey of Guisborough. The work was completed by local builder Tony Weatherill at a cost of £60,000. Also in August, Bitz & Pizza's of Flowergate, which first opened in June 1987, was granted permission to open 1 hour longer on a Friday & Saturday night, until 12:30am. Permission was also passed to allow them to fry chips, rather than oven cooking them. When they originally came into business, they had to put a 'change of use' in to the planning authority, and it was stated at that time that no frying would be carried out. Also in this area of town, sometime in this year, 9 Flowergate was converted from a shop to Daisy's ice cream parlour & cafe.

Brunswick Methodist Church - bought by David Grey in 1997

The Donkey path had been closed for a number of months, and this was to be extended for another 6. The closure on the road officially called 'Church Lane', came into force 70m down from the junction with Henrietta Street for about 60m resulting from a leaning wall on the South boundary, posing a danger to the public.

In September, projection equipment arrived at the Coliseum, which opened as a cinema in October, bringing back to the town what it once had until the 1980's, when the cinema closed. The scheme was thanks to Yorkshire Water who donated £4,200 towards it. Petrol rations were put in place at a number of Whitby garages as panic buying left supplies low, after haulers blockaded Phillips Petroleum of Teesside. The Co-opertaive supermarket in Langborne Road boosted their home delivery service, adding a second van, allowing them to handle more deliveries.

On 25th September, water poured in Woolworths from its St. Anne's Staith entrance after a drain started spewing out water from across the road, leaving staff to mop up. On Thursday 28th September, a small gas leak at the foot of Chubb Hill had crept through the pavement and caused a discarded cigarette to ignite, causing a blue flame to rise from the pavement. Loftus Bank, which closed on 5th August, re-opened to traffic on 29th September after a seven-week closure, after completion of a scheme costing £3M to re-build the road, following a landslip in February 1999. It wasn't until 11am however that traffic was allowed to use the road, as there was an officially re-opening ceremony, which left many motorist outraged.

Talbot Court was officially unveiled in October 2000, on the site of the former Oak Tree pub. Work had started on the development in December 1999, after the pub was demolished in May 1998. The houses were owned by Ryedale Housing Association and built by PLC Homes of Skipton. Wobbly Wot Notz, a business set up in 1999 by Mel Stevens, which was formerly housed at Hinderwell Industrial Estate, moved to a larger premises at Liverton Mines in October 2000, in an old Chapel. The business, designed and made inflatable bouncy castles, but a new idea was now on the way, in the form of adult bouncy castles, using parts of the human body as the wobbly parts. The parts of the anatomy could only be seen from inside of the bouncy castles however!

Talbot Court complete this year on the site of the former Oak Tree pub

Another house to be constructed in this year was that of The Lilacs at Back St. Hilda's Terrace at the other side of town. A spacious 2-storey house with 3 en-suite bedrooms to the upper floor boasting 3 reception rooms & toilet to the ground floor as well as a garage.

The Lilacs at Back St. Hilda's Terrace

On 13th October, the re-development of the former Coast Guard Station at Robin Hood's Bay into a visitor centre was complete. The development took 3 years of planning and months of hard work and cost around the one million pound mark. The building was built in the 17th century and was originally an inn. It then served as a Coast Guard Station until 1911, when it was bought by Leeds & Bradford University's for the study of marine life. In 1983 it was sold to a business who used it as a training centre until the National Trust bought it from them.

Also in October, Mike Asplin Whiteley, who ran a furniture factory at Cholmley Way, had an extra factory unit built adjacent to it, to allow the business to expand. Plans were passed around this time for new houses to be built on the South Eastern end of the former West Cliff Railway Station. This meant the footpath that ran from Station Avenue to Stakesby Road had to be diverted. The old Abbey car park was officially closed around this time and the new one to the South entrance made the only pay and display car park on the headland. The temporary toilets were also closed & the former temporary parking was now only allowed for people attending church services at St. Mary's Church.

On 21st October, the Larpool Viaduct opened to the public for the first time, since the last passenger train passed over it in 1965. The structure had been tarmaced and was to be part of the National Cycle Route.

Larpool Viaduct from Larpool towards Whitby

The end of October and the beginning of November saw a considerable amount of rainfall in a short space of time. This brought problems with flooding to many premises on a number of occasions, but the worst came overnight on Thursday 2nd November and Friday 3rd November. The problems in the Town Centre were caused when Bagdale Beck overflowed, after the culvert became blocked. This meant the road leading down Bagdale, was turned into a beck, as it was years gone by incidentally, which caused major problems to businesses in Station Square, not forgetting Arundel Hotel and Beevers, which both got a soaking. The George Hotel, Boyes, Universal Garage &The Granary all had flood waters in their shops, and Boyes was closed for around 3 weeks. All the carpets had to be ripped up and big industrial driers were brought in. Other problems were encountered at Caedmon School where tree roots blocked drains meaning the school had to close for the day and send all the students home. Two inflatable dinghies were taken to Briggswath to rescue people trapped in houses as the River Esk burst its banks. Briggswath Church Services had to be moved to Sleights Village Hall as the church was flooded. Work had to be undertaken to remove the pews and floor and then remove 2 inches of silt from under the floor and repair the drains. A number of roads were closed around the area, including The Carrs between Ruswarp & Sleights.

Around the last month or so of the year, the council moved 5 graves from the cemetery at St Mary's Church after landslides had left the graves dangerously close to the cliff edge. The graves moved included lifeboat heroes John & William Store. Also, it was decided that public access would be prohibited on the Fish Quay at times of fish landing, due to health and safety. Sometime before the end of the year, a new system was adopted by Whitby traders, called Shopwatch. The system meant all traders with a radio could radio directly to Whitby Police Station if an incident was unfolding. The Bungalow, an asbestos and timber dwelling on Dunsley Crescent, Whitby, was demolished and re-built in brick, as a garage and utility room. Around this time also, work was being carried out at Sandsend Village Hall to upgrade the building to make it usable all year round. Work to the building, built by the Mulgrave Estate in the 1860's, included a new kitchen and flooring, new lighting and decorations, and a complete overhaul of the electrical, plumbing and heating systems. The work was paid for mostly by Yorventure, who donated £13,500, and the other £1,500 came from monies raised through the village. 48 & 50 Carr Hill Lane were built in this year and Buchanan & White Solicitors merged with North Yorkshire Law.

48 & 50 Carr Hill Lane