Whitby

In Living Memory

2013

Whitby Rugby Club saw some alterations take place in this year costing £220,000, which saw its facilities upgraded, after receiving a grant of £12,500. The club was awarded £85,000 in 2011 to help pay for the upgrades, which included a designated changing room for both male and female referees. Scarborough Borough Council agreed to pay £12,474 and most of the outstanding amount came from Broadacres Housing Association in relation to the Old Creamery housing development just over the road. In the early part of the year, work began at 19 Well Close Square, which saw a 2-storey extension - facing onto Clarence Place, which was said to be in a poor structural state - demolished and re-built with a larger footprint. The extension was built at 2.5-storeys-high and was a metre wider than the previous, with a further single-storey extension in the yard area. A boundary wall was also demolished and re-built on a setback alignment to allow for a car parking space. 2 dormer windows were also added to the front of the building. A 3rd dormer window was added to the rear of the building too as part of a new en-suite bathroom. Sometime in the late part of 2012 or early 2013, Staponas Gallery in Pier Road, had a change of name to 'Gallery Cafe'. The gallery opened in 2011, and since then a metal railing replaced a stone wall, on the balcony of the flat above.

In early 2013, parking at Grosmont was changed forever with the marking of on-street parking bays. These bays were well received and after a year, the decision was made to keep the bays, moving the bay at the Co-op westwards by approximately 5 metres. 30-minute waiting bays were also to be brought in during 2014 along with a 2-hour bay opposite the cricket field.

It was announced in January that the former Harbour Offices in Pier Road were to be converted into 4 holiday apartments, in a development costing £60,000. The vacant premises stands next to the lifeboat museum. It was rumoured that a detached building to the rear of the offices could be sold to the adjacent amusement arcade. The works would be covered by a council scheme 'Invest to Save'. Pier House Café formerly stood on the site of the building, a 3 storey building which also boasted having a hair saloon. Also around this time, it was reported that work was needed on Whitby's East Pier to ensure its safety. £10,000 was to be spent to strengthen the pier. Remedial work was also being undertaken at this time at Kiddies Corner following completion of work at Eskside Wharf, after subsidence had been noticed in the latter months of 2012 and £98,000 had been set aside for works. Whitby's Engine Shed was bought by property developer Terry Hodgkinson & work was started to tidy it up and hopefully eventually give it a new lease of life as an art gallery & cafe. Interior works were ongoing throughout the coming year, which included making the building water-tight and replacing the doors, which alone cost £7,500. In total, Mr. Hodgkinson spent around £35,000 on the building, but in the early part of 2014, he decided to put it back on the market after he failed to get government or arts council funding. The building went to auction but failed to attract a single bidder which lead Mr. Hodgkinson to his next idea - use the building as a private car park, adding a first floor. This idea came to fruition in the summer of 2015.

Left: The Gallery Cafe in what was Staponas Gallery in Pier Road; Right: Former Harbour Office, Pier Road (first floor)

A couple of weeks into January, residents of Castle Park welcomed the decision to grant the grassy land off Highfield Road as 'Village Green' status, after campaigning since 2009, meaning no houses would be built on the land. In May 2010 planning permission was given to the owners of the land - Annington Developments - to build 41 houses who then auctioned the land off with no reserve. Yorkshire County Homes Ltd won the bid against residents.

The Scarborough Borough Council Offices were to move from their home in Skinner Street which saw services re-located in a bid by the council to save £2.6M in the coming financial year. Benefits & Housing options services were to be delivered by council staff from JobCentre Plus on Bobbies Bank from the 7th February, while Customer First Services were to be based at the Tourist Information Centre in Langborne Road, which was to see improvements made to the inside of the building including a dedicated Customer First Zone with improved layout & better signage. The new Customer First Zone was set up by 18th February and meant the signage on the outside of the old part of the Tourist Information Centre was changed to say 'Customer First' replacing 'All About Whitby Moors & Coast', whilst the newer part of the building's signage changed to 'Tourist Information Centre'. There was a new logo installed above the fire exit from the Customer First building, which was originally the main entrance to the Tourist Information Centre, prior to the 2000 extension. Council planners were already moved prior to the change, which saw them transfer to the Harbour Office on Endeavour Wharf & engineers had moved to the shared council depot in Cholmley Way. At the start of the year also, a bus shelter opposite Whitby Golf Course on the A174 was badly damaged when a car ploughed into it. Work for its repair was delayed due to its ownership being unknown, but it was discovered it was actually owned by Newholm-cum-Dunsley Parish Council, so therefore the responsibility for its repair lay with them. Sometime around the beginning of the year, a private garage was demolished at 3 Back St. Hilda's Terrace, to make way for Mews Cottage, built using existing bricks where possible.

Left: Scarborough Borough Council Offices, Skinner Street; Centre: The badly damaged bus shelter on the A174, looking towards Whitby;
Right: Whitby Tourist Information Centre with changed signage - 'All About Whitby Moors & Coast' removed

Sometime over the winter, the restaurant on Khyber Pass was re-named from 'Graveley's' to 'The Fishermans Wife'. The restaurant has had lots of names in recent years, going back to 2006 when it was called 'Sands', then re-named 'Khyber Pass Restaurant', then 'Hudson's', and then more recently 'Graveley's', which takes us to its new name for this year. Also over the winter months, the beach hut at East Row, Sandsend, selling beachware was taken down to be replaced with Tides, which also included a cafe with decking area. At this time, work was started on erecting a new perimeter fence for the co-op car park, to stop motorists avoiding the camera for number plate recognition. A fence was also put up around the staff car park, to stop members of the public driving over the kerb.

Above from left: The Fishermans Wife, Khyber Pass; Working on the Swing Bridge's western dolphin; The site of the old hut at East Row, Sandsend

New perimeter fence for the Co-op

At the end of January, work began on the demolition of a house in Newton Street, which had been unoccupied for 4 years and was falling into a state of disrepair. The house had been subject to subsidence and was structurally unstable from the chimney stack down to the foundations. The main property was thought to have dated from around 1825-40, but had been altered considerably over the years. The wall bordering Ashes Well Lane, between Walker Street & Newton Street, was also suffering from subsidence, especially the end nearest Newton Street. Demolition of the main house & out buildings of Sunnyside, 7 Newton Street began in a methodical manner, dismantling the chimney stack first, brick-by-brick, before the roof was taken off. Building work on the new building was started in April. The new building was to become four 3 bedroom houses over 4 storeys.

Above: Only part of the house remains, the out buildings have already been demolished in these photos, which were to the right of the main house as we look from Newton Street

Above: An update on 7 Newton Street: Looking South-East from Newton Street; From the rear of Newton House looking North-east towards Newton Street

Left & Left Centre: A garage after demolition on Back St. Hilda's Terrace before being re-built as a house, pictured at the beginning of February; Right Centre & Right: End of February, the house is being built

Also in January, more landslips occurred below St. Mary's Church, which saw part of the footpath around the grave yard fall down the cliff. The first photo below shows the cliff on 5th December 2012, the next show the cliff 2 months on, on 6th February 2013. As you can see, a fence has been erected behind the properties of Henrietta Street & meshing has been installed further up the cliff to protect properties from falling debris. The work was complete by June. At the beginning of February, a small landslip occurred near the entrance to Caedmon School, on the southern embankment, which was created when the cutting for the new bridge approach roads were made in the late 70's. It appeared the slip resulted from a water leak in the embankment, so more soil had to be removed first to allow access to the faulty pipe. Repair work was carried out within around a week. Also around this time, the footpath to the front of Aelfleda Terrace was re-opened following the landslip of the rear gardens of the properties in November 2012. Landslips had also occurred over the winter months on the cliff above the A174 road to Sandsend.

Above left: The newly-created gable end of 1 of the 2 surviving houses at Aelfleda Terrace; Right: Looking in the other direction, towards Franks Terrace with the wall of the 'new' end house to the extreme right

Above left: The cliff below St. Mary's Church on 5th December 2012; Other 3 photos: The same cliff on 6th February 2013, more cliff has fallen & taken part of the footpath with it

Left: Near the entrance to Caedmon School; Right: Recent landslips on the cliff by the A174, looking South towards Whitby

The former Big A building was also taking shape, with around two months left before the big opening day of the long-awaited Wetherspoons.
Here it is, pictured on 31st January...

...And on 17th February...

Left & Left Centre: From New Quay Road; Right Centre: Showing the frontage of Cushion Flex, which has been covered since work began; Right: Angel Yard from Baxtergate & the side of the Big A

...And on 10th March...

March update on Wetherspoon's, front of building painted back to its former white colour scheme

A new library - Esk Valley Community Library was officially opened on 12th February, based at St. Hedda's school, Egton Bridge. The library - run by volunteers - had books for children as well as adults to borrow. Around this time, during February, Whitby's ice house, on the Fish Quay, was demolished after not being used for a number of years. Erected in 1996 replacing an older ice house, the ice house being demolished was set to cost an estimated £200,000 to repair.

Whitby's ice house shortly before demolition, having stood on Whitby's Fish Quay since 1996, when it replaced an older ice house, which was situated next to this one; 1 week later during demolition; After demolition

The hut at East Row, Sandsend is making steady progress

It was announced by the Co-operative, that the car park system of the store in Whitby was to change again, following the major change in the summer of 2012. This time, it would see 2 ticket machines installed in the covered area to the rear of the colonnade, which runs down the side of the store. Drivers would get 45 minutes of parking free, or they could stay up to 2 hours for £2 or 4 hours for £4. The machines would require the driver to input their registration, which would be linked to the cameras installed in 2012 as part of the previous system. They could then issue the ticket to the checkout operator in-store at the time of doing their shopping to claim money back off their parking, if they spent £20, it would entitle them to £2 off their parking, or £40 would give them £4 back off a £4 ticket. The £20 was lowered to £14 by the store with a £2 ticket & £2 was given off a £4 ticket if shoppers spent £20 in-store. The system was put into use for the first time on the afternoon of 20th March ready for Easter.

Around the middle of February, work involving installing drainage and long nails to bolt soil to the cliff at Whitby's East Cliff below St. Mary's Church was started to prevent further landslides. Around this time, Fishnets Lingerie on Skinner Street closed down as it was soon to become the home of 'Whitby Vintage', a clothing shop which opened in late March.

Vintage Whitby clothing shop

At Willow Wood Way in Stainsacre, the road surface was finally laid in the middle of February. Street lighting was installed and street name signs were erected. Tuesday 25th February saw the official handover of the new housing development with a postal code of YO22 4PX. The development of 6 houses, 3 part-ownership & 3 affordable rent, was built by Tolent Construction for Sanctuary Housing Group.

For a video of the 'Willow Wood Way' development, click here

Left & Left Centre (17/2/13): From the bottom of Scraper Lane; The entrance to Scraper Lane with the new sign, with the old one still behind.
Right & Right Centre (6/3/13): Entrance to the development; 3 gates installed at the bottom end of the development

March saw the Fleece pub in Church Street re-open after an extensive refurbishment. Work included building a covered patio area to the rear of the pub. Next door, at Church Street car park, work was carried out on replacing pipe work as part of a £100,000 scheme. The project was to improve the rising main pipe feed from the Endeavour Wharf Pumping Station to improve future maintenance access to the pumping station and to install a new isolation valve. The works - undertaken by Earth Tech Morrison on behalf of Yorkshire Water - were complete by the beginning of May, meaning the entrance to the car park had to be temporarily moved, nearer to the Grape Lane end of the car park, which also meant the temporary loss of 26 car parking spaces. The car park did retain some spaces at the other end, accessible from the original entrance adjacent to the Fleece. After the work, the wall was re-built and the second phase of the works got underway, which involved work in the actual pumping station, which was complete over the next 4 weeks. Also around this time, work was being carried out in Church Street to connect a private sewer.

Left & Left Centre - Fleece refurbishment: Front of the Fleece; New patio area by the harbour;
Right Centre & Right - Church Street car park works: Big hole excavated during works; Temporary entrance to Church Street car park

In March of this year, the Marina back car park was almost completely resurfaced and the lines were re-painted, the only part that wasn't was the section that used to be the private car park, which was decreased in size in 2012. On another note, sometime around the turn of the year, road signs on entering Briggswath were changed. From the entrance to Briggswath from Ruswarp, a new plate 'Briggswath' was added below the former 'Sleights' name. A new sign was also installed at the top of Carr Hill Lane. A plaque depicting the history of Briggswath was also installed on the wall near the Methodist Church. Also around this time, tidying up work was undertaken at the Ruswarp end of Glen Esk Road, where a small bridge crossing a stream was given a new lease of life. A house was built on land at 71 Carr Hill Lane with building work well underway in the summer of 2012, which was complete sometime around late summer of this year.

Above left: The entrance to Briggswath from Ruswarp with the new name plate 'Briggswath' below the former 'Sleights' name plate;
Left centre: The entrance to Briggswath from Sleights; Right centre: A newly installed plaque in Briggswath depicting its past; Right: The new bridge at Glen Esk, Ruswarp

Left: Back Marina car park gets resurfaced; Centre: Grande View, Carr Hill Lane nearing completion; Right centre & Right: Another house built at 71 Carr Hill Lane, shown here in June 2012 & September 2013

Left, Left Centre & Right Centre: Hut at East Row nearing completion; Right: Complete - 3 weeks later 'Tides' Cafe

March saw the opening of 'Thorntons & Collins', a shop selling bags, in the old Birthday's premises & also in the old Zero Gravity shop in Flowergate opened 'Witness Surf & Skate', selling similar items to that of Zero Gravity.

Thorntons & Collins & Witness Surf & Skate, 2 new shops open in Whitby around March this year

On 19th March, Brunswick Street was closed to traffic for a few days to allow emergency gas works to be carried out. Access to Walker Street was available by going UP Brunswick Street from Bagdale & access to Newton Street via the usual way, however on leaving, vehicles would have to go the wrong way UP Brunswick Street and the top part of Flowergate to join St. Hilda's Terrace & so the parking bays were temporarily removed. Around this time, Maynews in Baxtergate changed names to Supernews Local after the parent company of CTN, Rippleglen, bought the chain. Also around this time, work was carried out first on Helredale Road & then on Stainsacre Lane a few days later as far South as the junction with Cholmley Way which involved tidying up the grass verge & pavements as soil had spread onto the pavements, making them unpleasant to walk on. At the Old Creamery development, the sales office was demolished to make way for two plots, numbers 61 & 62.

Left: Supernews, Baxtergate, changed from Maynews; Right: The Old Creamery sales office demolished

Whitby's very own J.D. Wetherspoon was officially opened on 28th March, with the staff getting the keys just over a week before. The newly refurbished building was bought by J.D. Wetherspoon in October 2011, after the Big A closed its doors in December 2010 & quickly becoming a boarded-up eyesore. Shortly after buying the property, J.D. Wetherspoon submitted plans for the multi-million pound development, which included a 34-bedroom hotel, 22 of which were double rooms, with 6 twin, 2 disabled, 4 family & 3 interlinking rooms, to be called The Angel Hotel, reverting back to the name it carried years ago. The hotel was to occupy the floor space previously known as 'The New Angel Hotel'. The bar area was to occupy the ground and first floors with a separate entrance to the hotel to the side of the building, replacing the Big A bar & Laughton's Nightclub respectively.

From left: From New Quay Road looking West; From Angel Yard; From New Quay Road

For a video of the Big A re-development, click HERE

In April, Pine Valley Outlet store in the lower floor of the old Woolworth's premises was closed down and boarded up. It opened shortly after Woolworths closed down in December 2008. The store on the upper floor, an independent 'Factory Outlet' store - 'The Wilderness', also closed down shortly afterwards. The building re-opened as one store over both floors as Mountain Warehouse in June, with customers being able to use the internal staircase, as was the case in the former Woolworths.

Left & left centre: Pine Valley Outlet Store, St. Ann's Staith closed down & re-opened as Mountain Warehouse;
Right centre & right: Factory Outlet Store - The Wilderness, closed down shortly afterwards & re-opened also as Mountain Warehouse

Also in April, an alternative therapy business was launched in Whitby Brunswick Centre. The Mana Health Foundation UK created a new therapy room to offer a variety of treatments ranging from Reiki & Holistic Body Massage to Homeopathy. The 22nd April was the last time a group - who's aim was to help Whitby people with mental health issues - would meet. The group, run by the Scarborough, Whitby & Ryedale branch of MIND, was disbanded due to lack of funds. The group previously met on a Monday between 12:30pm & 3.30pm at Whitby Evangelical Church in Skinner Street.

On the night of the 15th April, suspected arsonists destroyed an old workshop at Sneaton Lane, near to Ruswarp bridge next to Wilf Noble's. The workshop was disused at the time, but had been in the same family since the 1960's. During 2016 a larger building was erected on the site as a large frame was erected during the summer months. A smaller building had already been built by that time.

Above left: Sneaton Lane fire; Right: The new building to the right & the frame for a larger building is under construction behind during August 2016

Moorlands Court complete; Moorlands Close complete

 On a brighter note, Moorlands Court & Moorlands Close were complete by this time, on the site of the former Moorlands Hotel. The hotel made way for the development, which was demolished in March 2012 & saw 8, three-storey town houses built which was to be called 'Moorlands Court' & 4 houses for affordable rent, to be called 'Moorlands Close', situated on land formerly occupied by garages belonging to Moorlands Hotel.

Around this time, a hedge was partially pulled down at the end of Kingfisher Drive and was replaced with a steel gate. Two signs appeared advertising for housing by Barratt Homes & David Wilson Homes for Phoenix Park & Scoresby Park respectively. The first stages of building work began on both sites around June 2013 with a site access road laid and then the first bricks laid in August. Building work had also begun on a house at Folly Gardens, Green Lane.

Above left & centre: 7 Newton Street - building work started, caravan on site 21st April; Right: The same view nearly a month on

Left: Folly gardens viewed from the rear of Abbots Walk on 21st April; Centre: The same building viewed from Green Lane on 18th May; Right: The same view on 31st August

Right Centre & Right: New gate erected at end of Kingfisher drive, the first signs of further housing development off the 'Barratt Estate'

 Little Whitehall, a 4-bedroom private residence, was in the process of being built at Whitehall, Spital Bridge, to form an arched link from Whitehall to the holiday cottages of Whitehall Gardens, built in 2010 - part of Whitehall Complex. It is part of a project from Whitehall Spital Bridge Ltd - a company established in 2007 by Eddie & Liz Astin - to completely renovate the complex, which was once part of Fyling Hall Junior School. It would also serve as an extension to an apartment of Whitehall.

Also around this time, a stream on the western embankment of the A169 near Featherbed Lane at Briggswath was cleaned up. Back in Whitby, some street lights were being replaced around this time, notably on St. Andrew's Road & White Leys Road.

From left: Little Whitehall at various dates - 21st April; 21st July; 31st August

Left: The stream next to the A169 cleaned up; Right: New street lighting replaces old on White Leys Road

Sometime in the Spring of this year, Thyme & Tide cafe on Flowergate closed down, with a notice in the window stating that it had to close due to family reasons. The cafe was based in the former Red Chard premises, having opened in the Summer of 2012. Also around this time, event control barriers were temporarily installed along the sea wall in front of the beach chalets after around 4 feet of sand had been washed away over the years, making the drop from the sea wall to the beach around 13 feet. It caused much upset over chalet users who claimed the fencing spoiled their view. The temporary fencing was removed after the summer season. Another issue to cause upset amongst beach users was the fact that the cliff lift was out of operation for the whole of this season, due to structural issues with the shaft lining. The lift was re-open in time for the 2014 season but further closures were necessary in June for repair work to be carried out. Also - in similar news - a fence was erected at Spion Kop above the Khyber Pass around this time, which also caused a bit of a stir with local history groups. Also around this time, a new restaurant & take away called 'The Four Seasons'  opened in the former Samuel's Restaurant premises, Bridge Street.

Left: Temporary fencing in front of the chalets at West Cliff Beach, extending beyond the old fencing; Right: The bottom entrance to the cliff lift is seen boarded up

In May, a £140,000 coastal defence project in Staithes, which started at the beginning of the year, was coming to an end. Work carried out on behalf of the borough council using grant funding from the Environment Agency was in the latter stages, when a 10 metre length of retaining wall came crashing down near the harbour at Beckside. The rest of the wall was checked and properties near the wall, which was privately owned, were deemed safe.

Tuesday 28th May saw the official opening of Peregrine House's front extension. The actual work, which took about a year to complete, was finished by March. It saw 11 new bedrooms with en-suite wet rooms added and an enlarged lounge/dining room. The work was designed by York firm Brierley Groom, while the building work was undertaken by Whitby firm JD Roach.

Above centre & right: New fencing at Spion Kop, never been known before, also showing where it is apparently 'safe', where the fencing ends

Left: Peregrine House extension; Right: The Four Seasons, Bridge Street

8th June saw the unveiling of Whitby's War Memorial at Dock End, in replacement of the Scoresby Statue that came crashing down in high winds over a year previous. The war memorial, made of types of granite and sandstone, stood at 11-feet high and work was carried out by J.A. Ingram & SiteRite. The work took around 2 weeks to complete. At the beginning of November, railings were erected around the War Memorial to deter people from sitting on it.

Above: House replaces garage on Back St. Hilda's Terrace progressing nicely, seen here in April, early June, mid-June & mid-July

Above left: Work on the War Memorial gets underway; Above centre & right - Photos by Keith Denton: Photos of the unveiling of the War Memorial, which was covered in a camouflage sheet

Left: The area at Dock End where the War Memorial now stands; Centre; The War Memorial; Right: The information board in front of the memorial

Work started in Spring at 19 Well Close Square. Work included fitting a dormer window to the front of the building and extending the rear of the building - which backed onto Clarence Place - replacing a previous, smaller, extension. It was around this time also that work started at Raithwaite Estate, on construction of 7 eco lodges, the first phase of work which would see a total of 46 cottages built. The 2 bedroom eco lodges were completed by November. Work on constructing the Keep, was officially completed in June & in January 2014 a spa especially for dogs was opened in the building, also boasting special dog lodges for pets holidaying with their owners.

Above left: 18th May - The rear of 19 Well Close Square before work began; Centre: 31st May - Work progressing; Right: 28th June - Main structure built

Left: Looking up Clarence Place; Left centre: Looking down Clarence Place - 21st July; Right centre: Looking up Clarence Place; Right: Looking down Clarence Place - 16th August

Also on the new-builds front, the new house at 7 Newton Street was coming along nicely, with the first floor in place, as seen below. The 9th June saw the opening of a new gymnasium at the Friendship Rowing Club. The gym was officially opened by Phoebe Ross, whose Dad - Mark Ross - a dedicated member of the club, passed away after a long battle with cancer. It was equipped with 4 rowing machines, 2 'skiergs' and full weight training facilities, as well as cameras and televisions, which would allow crews to get feedback on their performance. Meanwhile, Fyling Hall School had a new wooden boat constructed for the younger pupils to play on. It was designed and built thanks to the generosity of Phyllis Scargill who died in July 2010 and had left money to the school in her will. She was a former head teacher of Fyling Hall Junior School, when it was based at Whitehall in Whitby. A competition was held to name the ship and the winning pupil was Lewis de Silva who very fittingly chose 'HMS Whitehall'.

Another town centre business felt the affects of the credit crunch in June as Thirkills picture framers in Flowergate closed its doors. Sometime around June, netting was installed on the cliff face at Khyber Pass, to protect people below from rock falls. In July, Cross Butts had new signage added by the highways agency, with an advanced sign in each direction advertising rooms & also signs opposite the entrance. Also at this time, a new hair salon opened at 9 Mount Farm Close off in the newly-partitioned section of Eskdale Stores. Zizani officially opened on 15^th July after alterations to the shop had been undertaken, making the shop floor considerably smaller.

Left & left centre: Thirkills picture framers, Flowergate closes Summer 2013 & re-opens as Top Nails in April 2014; Right centre: Cross Butts new signs; Right: Netting installed at Khyber Pass cliff to stop falling rocks

Eskdale Stores divided in two to make way for Zizani hair & beauty salon

A total of £20M was spent on schools throughout the Whitby area by North Yorkshire County Council. As part of this investment, work began around early July and was complete by mid-August at Airy Hill School, to extend its toilet facilities. Stakesby School also benefitted from the money, where new windows were fitted replacing old ones that had become rotten over recent years. At Eskdale School, windows of 4 of its classrooms as well as the hall were replaced, and the front door was also replaced.

On 20th July, Whitby's first whale watching centre was opened by ITV's former Gladiator 'Jet'. The centre, in St. Ann's Staith, was the first regional office of The Sea Watch Foundation, a charity who work to improve the conservation of whales, dolphins & porpoises in the seas around Britain & Ireland. The centre was to be used as a booking office for boat trips on the Esk Belle III and the Specsioneer, the latter of which incidentally was away at the time being re-fitted, and the centre also housed a shop & gallery. The centre didn't last long however, closing down before the end of the season. In sporting news, ready for the new football season, Whitby Town F.C's Turnbull ground had its pitch-side wooden boarding replaced with breeze blocks, from the main stand to the seaward goal.

Left: Airy Hill School as works began; Left centre: Work complete; Right centre The Turnbull Ground with the old boarding past the main stand; Right: The newly-built wall to the seaward goal

Towards the end of July, a derelict building at 'Raft Yard', Spital Bridge was being demolished, to make way for three 2-storey houses. Once used as a workshop or garages, it was unused for years and once had a metal sheet roof, but that was removed around 2010. Any bricks that could be salvaged from the building, would be re-used in the foundations of the new structure. It wasn't until early 2017 that any significant work had taken place, when a low perimeter wall was in place with a large quantity of breeze blocks on-site ready to be laid.

Left, Left centre & Right centre: Derelict building at Spital Bridge demolished; Right: Nearly 4 weeks on, not much progression, a man is burning rubbish in the building;
Below: Not much progression made from late 2013 into 2016, only the far gable wall demolished since the photos above

Above: Breeze blocks on site ready to be used - April 2017

Building work started around April 2017 and progressed steadily through 2017.

Above from left: The view from the bottom of the site with work coming along nicely; The view looking down from Spital Bridge; Work progressing

Above left & Left centre: The houses progressing into September 2017 showing the view from Raft Yard; Right centre: November 2017; Right: Ground floor complete by January 2018

Above left: More breeze blocks in place; Centre & Right; 2 months later showing the building from Raft Yard & Spital Bridge respectively

Building work had reached roof-level by August 2018.

Above from left: The building from the rear; The building from the entrance to Raft Yard

Above from left: The roof face facing Spital Bridge is now complete; The other side of the roof has yet to be tiled

Above from left: The building from Spital Bridge; Looking down on the building from higher up Spital Bridge; The rear of the building

By August 2019 the building had a full set of windows & was almost complete with just doors & external ground works to be completed.

Above from left: The building almost complete from Spital Bridge; The rear of the building complete & knitted into the existing buildings of Raft Yard

Left & Left centre: 7 Newton Street at the end of June from the front & rear respectively; Right centre: A similar view nearly a month on; Right: 2 weeks later, work now started on the dormer windows

Also around the end of June, a new breeze block wall was built at the entrance to LiDL supermarket car park. The wall was built to enable the supermarket to install illuminated plastic signs on both sides, to attract passing motorists, with work being complete within a month of it starting.

The wall at LiDL supermarket at various stages of being built

The 50-metre-high rockshaft tower at Boulby Mine was demolished on Monday 5th August after a controlled explosion took place by destruction company D-Drill. The condition of the tower, built in 1969, had deteriorated due to affects of the sea air. It was replaced by an improved tower alongside the old one, the steel frame of it being erected before demolition of the old one. The work was part of a £15M project, which was part of a larger renovation program by the mine, costing £300M.

A new play area at land adjacent to the Byland Court housing development was officially opened around the middle of August by Stakesby ward borough councillors Jane Kenyon & David Chance, BEFORE the safety fencing was taken down! The long-awaited play area replaced the play area that was flattened to make way for the housing development more than 3 years previous. It was built by Cleveland Land Services to a design inspired by the pupils of Stakesby School.

Left: Boulby Mine's old rockshaft tower before demolition; Centre: New play area next to Byland Court; Right: Complete

The 'greasy pole' returned to the Whitby Regatta in this year, as a new one was supplied by the Friendship Rowing Club, after the old one had snapped during the 2005 regatta. Also by the Summer time, work was complete at the Resolution & Reading Room Gallery on Flowergate which saw the exterior of the buildings painted with interior work being carried out at the Resolution in the previous months. The Reading Rooms premises was once part of Halifax Property Services, which also took up what is now the basement of the Resolution. This followed an interior revamp of the Resolution. The end of August saw the railway station car park attempt to implement A.N.P.R. technology, which would allow the car park company to track cars entering & exiting the car park and automatically issue fines if necessary. The move saw a pole erected in the corner of the car park nearest the Whistle Stop Cafe and bendy, plastic bollards installed at the entrance of the car park to keep traffic entering and exiting the car park to the left. However, the bollards were knocked over and had to be replaced within the first week of them being installed. The installation of the cameras were met with much controversy however, with the businesses in the station building such as V.I.P. Hairdressers expressing their anger as their clients could use designated spaces for visiting the hairdressers. Their were ideas around this, such as issuing the customer a number to key in to the parking ticket machine, but the business said that this would take time & eat into appointments. So it seemed the cameras were only really put up as a deterrent.

Left & Left centre: The Resolution & Reading Room Gallery after receiving a lick of paint; Right centre & Right: The bollards & cameras at the railway station car park

Work at 7 Newton Street was progressing rapidly with the roof almost complete by the end of August, as seen below, also showing a brick engraved with 'Grayson Court', seen at the Newton Street frontage. Gray & Son were the main building contractor. The steps of Ashes Well Lane to the side of the development were still inaccessible at the end of September.

Left, Left centre & Right centre: 7 Newton Street taking shape, also showing a brick with 'Grayson Court', Gray & Son were the main building contractors; Right: A similar view on 14th September

Above from left: Grayson Court, Newton Street from Newton Street; Grayson Court from Brunswick Street; Ashes Well Lane still closed between Walker St & Newton St

Above left & centre: Grayson Court almost complete by October 2013; Right: January 2014

Above from left: Paving down by March 2014; Tidying up the footpath of Ashes Well Lane; Exterior work underway in June 2014 with Ashes Well Lane now open;
Front of development now paved; A view down the far side of the development opposite Ashes Well Lane

Grayson Court at 7 Newton Street was complete in July 2014, with the re-opening of Ashes Well Lane, leading from Walker Street to Newton Street. The four houses were numbered 7, 7a, 7b & 7c.

Above from left: The front of the development from left & right respectively; The rear of the development
Below from left: The area to the rear of the development; Looking down Ashes Well Lane; Looking up Ashes Well Lane

31st August saw the last trading day for Ashe Computer Systems in their premises at John Street. The company - owned & managed by John Shooter on his own - went mobile after this date, offering the same computer repair services. The shop was emptied and odd items appeared in the shop windows, including light switches & bespoke plastic chairs. The uncovered old signage for Ashe Computers was still evident above the windows however, until the last traces of these were eventually removed almost a year after closing, in June 2014. The shop eventually was put to use again in late summer of 2014.
This date also saw the closure of the Universal Garage showroom in Station Square after the company moved all business up to its other location at Enterprise Way. On 4th October the locks were changed at Al's Cafe - Naughty But Nice, which was located in a partitioned area of the former Universal Garage building in Station Square. Work was soon started on removing the internal dividing wall before the whole building was gutted in preparation for fitment of the new shop unit. The flat roof was removed after scaffolding was erected in December & the top part of the exterior wall was removed before the whole building was basically demolished in the new year. The building was built for the Howard family in 1926 and has been a garage ever since. Also to suffer from the closure of the garage was the owner of Whitby Pet Shop next door, who used a room to the rear of the garage as a storeroom for stock.

 In other business news, Lloyds TSB bank in Flowergate was changed to TSB, after the companies split back to how they were previously, having joined forces nearly 20 years ago. It was also around this time or in early September, that Moorings Fisheries of 34 Church Street had a change of name to the 'Middle Chippy', as it is the 'middle' chip shop in Church Street, with Riverside Fisheries at the foot of Spital Bridge, and Mister Chips almost opposite the former St. Michael's School. Planning permission had been granted in the summer of the previous year for a change of use to residential use and for the take away to be converted into a self-contained flat, but this plan was never followed through. Spring Vale Medical Centre erected signage on the wall near the main entrance stating its name around this time.

Left: Ashe Computer Systems as it appeared before closing down; Left centre: Universal Garage showroom, Station Square closed down; Right centre: Moorings Fisheries; Right: The Middle Chippy

The middle of September saw work carried out in preparation for the park & ride scheme, which, incidentally hadn't even been passed at this date, & was due to be in place by April 2014. The work carried out at this time was the painting of single yellow lines and erection of parking restriction signs at White Point Bridge & Love Lane. Also put up was a sign heading towards The Parade from the direction of Sandsend warning of the zebra crossings and also a sign at Links View which stated that no motor caravans were to be parked overnight. In related news, around the 10th October double yellow lines were painted along the northern side of Stakesby Road and around the roundabout onto Upgang Lane, presumably in relation to the introduction of the controlled parking zones in relation to the park & ride. The metal bus shelter at Mayfield Road, which had access from both sides, was removed sometime around the end of September.

The site of the Mayfield Road bus shelter

By the end of September, the garage being re-built at Back St. Hilda's Terrace was complete with just a bit of paving to do around it.

From left: The garage at Back St. Hilda's Terrace is basically complete

Also in September, a planning application was submitted for the former Bagshaws Cafe at 38 Flowergate - which ceased trading in August of 2009 - to be converted into residential accommodation to match the upper floors of the building. The cafe began trading sometime around 2003, with the building previously used as offices. A planning application was passed for the sub-division of 13 Blackburns Yard off Church Street, a former jet workers workshop, it was converted into a private residence in the 1970's.

During heavy rainfall in September, two footbridges in Sandsend Valley were washed away. A temporary bridge was created across the stream at a site of one of the bridges. The other one, near to St. Mary's Church in Sandsend, was left impassable. Work was to begin in the winter of 2013/14 to replace both bridges with permanent structures.

Bothams Bakers of Whitby was given a plaque by Whitby Civic Society, which was unveiled on the 7th October at their Skinner Street store. The plaque was in remembrance of Elizabeth Botham, who started the business in the late 19th century when an outbreak of cattle plague hit her farm, which she ran with her husband, John, at Wykeham. At first, she sold her home baking products to try to make ends meet and then, owing to her success, opened her first Bothams shop in Raglan Terrace in Whitby. By the turn of the 20th century, the business had expanded and they had moved to Skinner Street and also acquired the former Ingleneuk Cafe. Elizabeth then bought Stakesby Manor and her sons, Jack & Arthur, took over the Bothams company, adding a shop in Baxtergate. After the second world war, the business expanded further, adding a shop at Sleights, after the business was passed down to Arthur's sons, Billy, Sydney & Neville.

Left: The plaque donated to Bothams; Centre: Ali's Cafe from Station Square; Right: Ali's Cafe from Wellington Road

Also around this time, Millbry Storage at Selly Hill, Whitby was having a bit of work done, which included having the driveway widened & tidied up. The work was complete by Spring 2014 with a large sign & fencing added in May 2014 before the verges were re-grassed.

Above left: Millbry Storage entrance as work was progressing on 12th October; Left centre: Millbry Storage work nearing completion on 7th December;
Right: 22nd March 2014

Left: New sign erected to the West of the entrance, also showing the new fence erected a couple of weeks later; Right: The entrance from the other direction

Also by this time, the house with integrated garage at Back St. Hilda's Terrace was complete, nearly a year after work first started. The Italian restaurant, Luna Piena in Skinner Street closed down suddenly, with a notice appearing in the window of the restaurant - which opened in March 2010 - advising people that the business had been taking into the hands of administrators Robson Scott Associates. A further notice appeared sometime later, in May 2014, stating that as of 1st May the landlord had terminated the lease due to unpaid rent.

Two different angles of the completed building at Back St. Hilda's Terrace

The cameras at the entrance to the Co-operative's Langborne Road car park were removed around the 7th October when the Co-op got out of the contract with the car park company 'Civil Enforcement Ltd' after the Co-op had been receiving numerous complaints from customers, with some having received fines for supposedly complying with the system! The ticket machines were still in use for a further two weeks however, with customers not aware of the lack of cameras. On 28th October, a new system - managed for the supermarket by Star Parking - came into force, this time with a human patrolling the car park! The fees were the same as the previous system, although the 45 minutes free parking was increased to 1 hour. Shoppers now had to display a ticket in their car, contrary to the previous system, even if they were only staying for one hour. There was also additional ticket machines installed, with 6 machines situated throughout the car park, all of which ran using solar energy with battery back-up. Signage was replaced in the week prior to the system coming into force.

One of the new ticket machines at the Co-op car park

Grayson Court was coming along nicely and by the end of October it was almost complete, & the caravan - which had been on the site since work began - had gone, but it was to return to the site by November. The development at 19 Well Close Square was complete by the beginning of November. Also to note around this time, BT were replacing the green-coloured street-side distribution boxes around the town and surrounding villages. The new cabinets, which were put up near the old ones before removing them, enabled the town to offer super-fast broadband.

Above left: 19 Well Close Square - complete by November, looking up Clarence Place; Centre: Further up Clarence Place; Looking back down Clarence Place

Above left: Whitby's War Memorial with its new railings; Right: One of the many new BT cabinets

The 1st November saw a major breakthrough for household recycling across the northern part of the borough, as glass bottles & jars were now accepted in the blue bins. Previously, residents had to dispose of glass in the many bottle banks across the region, but now all glass - except window glass, Pyrex & other kitchenware - could be placed in the blue bin. It was in the following year that the public glass recycling bins located on various streets across the town were removed. This included locations at Chubb Hill & the eastern side of the new bridge which were installed in 2009.

By around this time, refurbishment work costing £38,000 was complete at Hawsker & Stainsacre Village Hall, with work starting in February. The work was carried out by local building firm G.F. Attridge who gave the hall a new roof & insulation, new kitchen & new toilet facilities - including a disabled toilet & baby change. Also during the work, the hall received new heating & lighting systems as well as a lick of paint! It was the hall's first major refurbishment since it opened - 64 years earlier - and was complete by November 2014 when the committee held an opening bash.

The Stakesby Arms pub got a new landlady, re-opening on 16th November. Tracy Stevens, who had worked behind the bar at The Shambles for the past 9 years, took over the reins of the pub, after it had witnessed many changes of manager in its recent years.

Also in November, work began on two extensions to a factory in Cholmley Way. Unit 5, which housed Jet Print at the time had two extensions added, one to the front & one to the side, the latter creating a new customer entrance with fire escape from the first floor, a major improvement from the old entrance with its 5 narrow steps, allowing improved access for disabled customers. The internal staircase was also repositioned as part of the work.

Above - Jet Print, Cholmley Way - Left: Looking down Cholmley Way towards the main extension; Centre: Looking up Cholmley Way; Right: The smaller, side extension

Left: Another photo of the work at Cholmley Way two weeks later in early December; Centre & Right: Almost complete, taken on 19th December

Work at Little Whitehall was progressing well, with rendering work to the walls complete by mid-November. Also around this time, a security fence was erected at Eastside Community Centre, around the perimeter of the building with a separate section fenced off within the main perimeter.

November also marked the completion of the new housing development on the former Whitby Creamery site, with plots 15-21 the last to be completed. Residents had to wait a while for a smooth road surface however, as it wasn't laid until June 2015. Raised ironworks meant drivers had to weave in & out like drunkards!

Also around this time, a new assisted flat for vulnerable adults was officially unveiled above Whitby Coliseum. The 'Crows Nest' flat was made possible thanks to a £10,000 grant from Quaker House, with Whitby Area Development Trust - a merger of Whitby Network & Whitby Area Community Development Trust - funding the rest. The flat was a self-contained, two bedroom, each with en-suite. Moving North to Staithes for a minute, Yorkshire Water had completed works totalling £400,000 to the local sewer system, which involved replacing a sports pitch. The system previously had problems during heavy rainfall, resulting in sewerage discharging into the local watercourse. Mott MacDonald Bentley were employed to complete the work, which included installing a new sewer & overflow tank. The work was part of Yorkshire Water's £120M investment to protect properties from sewer flooding.

Left: All building work complete (13th October); Centre: Rendering complete (24th November); Right: Fencing erected at Eastside Community Centre within the last month

The new month of December brought with it a short spell of disruptive weather, as on Thursday 5th, the town witnessed some of its worst flooding due to strong winds for many years. The experts warned of potential flooding for the whole of the East coast & to expect the worst conditions for over 50 years while the properties most at risk were issued with sandbags. The fire service drafted in more vehicles to help deal with the inevitable problems & these were stored at Harrison's Garage forecourt for the day. Winds in excess of 40mph had been blowing all morning and by mid-afternoon the harbour levels were looking very high indeed. The realisation hit around 3:30pm, when the water at Dock End was licking the top of the harbour wall with 2 hours to go until high tide was due. The conditions down the pier were horrendous, with foam blowing up the slipway & waves crashing straight over the main piers. The drama in the town centre started to unfold a little before 4pm, when the first of the water spilled over from the harbour, onto New Quay Road & Church Street. Properties along New Quay Road including Trenchers, Yorkshire Trading Company, shops within Jutland House & Wetherspoons were all flooded, with around 2 feet of water in the buildings. At Specsavers, 500 pairs of glasses were ruined from the lower shelves of the store & Wetherspoons - who were left without power for a number of days - also had to completely gut the lower ground floor of the building, which also saw a table fly through the glass doors due to the force of the water. Wetherspoons was lucky enough to be able to partially re-open within weeks, keeping just the ground floor closed and using the side entrance. Oxfam was also badly affected, along with Subway, who both only re-opened in April the following year. Staff at Trenchers required the assistance of the fire service to help in their extraction from the premises into the floodwaters outside. Charity shop Scope in Baxtergate was badly affected after water had entered its cellar, damaging a huge amount of stock. Whitby Disablement Action Group, who used the Tourist Information Centre to store a lot of its mobility scooters, was also affected after water poured into the building, resulting in it losing 70% of its fleet to the water. One scooter caught fire after a short circuit in its electrics, which in turn caused damage to the ceiling of the building, melting light fittings. Businesses on Church street including the Middle Earth Tavern, The Fleece & Billy Wilson Fruiterers, were no better off either, with many residents down the yards also left helpless as the water came gushing into their properties. The Middle Earth & The Fleece required a full refurbishment and consequently did not re-open until the following mid-April. The Fleece received new management in Carla Smith & Lee Marchment and the pub had £25,000 spent on it, further to the refurbishment it had in 2013. On the other side of the river, the co-op customer car park looked more like an Olympic-sized swimming pool with the water being pushed up the drains, however, the co-op itself escaped the floodwater. The emergency services were working flat out to help people where they could, with properties on Church Street being evacuated and road closures put in place, which basically included the whole of the town centre. A rest centre was set up at Whitby Community College for people forced out of their homes with nowhere to go. As electricity sub-stations at Church Street & Loggerhead Yard were submerged, resulting in them sparking and smoking - with the one on Church Street actually in flames - the whole town centre was plunged into complete darkness at around 5:35pm. There were concerns that the floodwater, which had reached almost as far as Bagdale Hall, had become electrified, potentially carrying 20,000 volts! As the waters rose the lifeboat station got a damping to its ground floor with its moorings and pontoon also being damaged. Whitby's sea wall between Whitby & Upgang took a battering and these photographs show the damage done over the course of this winter period, not necessarily this storm surge.

Left: A footpath leading from the sea wall up the cliff is badly damaged; Centre & Right: Damaged railings along the sea wall

Sandsend was also badly affected by the severe weather, which saw the raised footpath over the beach - constructed in 1990 - very badly damaged & the bank on which the Sandside Cafe stood on was washed away, leaving the decking area of the cafe hanging over the edge. The newly-built Tides cafe also at Sandsend was also flooded. The clean-up operation began straight away, early on Friday morning, with all affected businesses going 'all hands on deck' to try and put their businesses back to as near normal as possible. Wetherspoons was able to re-open its top bar by the middle of December, using the entrance from Angel Yard but by January it appeared as it did around a year earlier when it was preparing to open, with the New Quay Road frontage boarded up & work ongoing inside.

Above left: Foam blowing up the slipway onto Pier Road during the afternoon; Left centre: The junction of Langborne Road with New Quay Road completely underwater;
Right centre: From the front of the station car park; Right: The scene in Station Square with lots of emergency services

Left: The overhanging footpath, created in 1990, very badly damaged; Centre: Sandside Cafe's decking left hanging after a small landslip of the bank;
Right: Almost 3 weeks after the incident, Wetherspoons re-opens its top bar

To round off the year, the 31st December was the last day of trading for Lythe Stores on the High Street in Lythe, ran at the time by Martin Needham. The store later re-opened as a 'community store'.

Above left: Universal Garage from the corner of Wellington Road & Station Square; Centre: Looking towards Station Square from Wellington Road;
Right: Inside the building with the right-hand wall being that of the Wellington Road frontage

Below: More photos of Universal Garage after its roof was removed -

From top left to bottom right: Looking in through the Station Square frontage; Looking in through the Station Square frontage towards Wellington Road; Looking through the corner window of what was Al's Cafe;
Looking in through the Wellington Road frontage towards Station Square; Looking down on the building from the top of Bobbies Bank