Whitby Mayor 'disappointed' town has been left to 'go it alone' again
Councillor Linda Wild says it's a new year but the same old story
Whitby's Mayor says she is disappointed that over the first Bank Holiday weekend of 2022, the town has been left to ‘go it alone’ once again.
Councillor Linda Wild has been speaking about Monday 3rd January.
Whitby Town Council says throughout 2021 it has called upon North Yorkshire County Council and Scarborough Borough Council to do more to manage their responsibilities with care and consideration for local people and for the increased numbers of visitors.
The authority adds that they welcome all visitors to Whitby and it wants them to have the very best experience, but the town's infrastructure has not kept pace.
Whitby Town Council said:
"The county and borough councils imagine that there is still a mythical closed season. But the pressure on car parks, on street services and on transport infrastructure is not taking time off this winter.
"Whitby has welcomed literally thousands of tourists this Christmas and New Year. The public parking has been inadequate. Cars have been circling the town and cliffs. Parking in residential areas has led people to ring the town council to complain. Also, despite hard work from the street cleansing team on the ground, bins have been overflowing.
Whitby Town Mayor, Councillor Linda Wild, said:
"When the country takes a day off, Whitby takes the strain once again with Whitby left to go it alone!”
"Whitby Town Council wrote last year to both principal councils to ask them to work harder and to work together to address Whitby’s parking problems. The town council is looking for a clear demonstration that the promised efficiencies of unitary local government can start to be seen.
"Whitby’s existing Park and Ride is closed. This makes no sense when the demand for better infrastructure is no longer seasonal and the pressure on local streets and local people is constant. Closing the Park and Ride in the winter seem to be another example of North Yorkshire County Council not watching carefully enough and not reacting to the new reality in Whitby. The West Cliff is jammed. Who at the county is watching the situation in Whitby? The swing bridge is working, but it is crammed with people.
“At this time of Covid the community in the town particularly on the Eastside has had a very gruelling 18 months. The county council has imposed upon us a ‘shovel ready project’ that was not shovel ready in any way. As residents we have been inundated with visitors in their thousands. The bridge has been closed to vehicles under a ‘supposed’ pedestrianisation trial. On the Eastside we have had the worst time with the volume of traffic and reduced car parking. Tin Ghaut car park has been turned into a turning circle. This has created a piece of land where anything and everything goes. The residents can be trapped because they struggle to access the A171 from Spital Bridge safely.
“The highways authority, the parking authority and the authority with responsibility for street cleanliness are not keeping up with demand. We want people to come to Whitby and to enjoy it, but that cannot be at the expense of the people who live and work here. Most of all, we must be seen to offer a proper visitor experience, where getting to Whitby, parking in Whitby and walking around in Whitby are all part of a pleasurable experience.”
In response, North Yorkshire County Councillor Don Mackenzie, Executive Member for Access, said:
"Whitby is incredibly popular with tourists, no more so than on public holidays, and we know how important visitors are to maintain a thriving economy. It is therefore our priority to balance the parking needs of residents and local businesses while continuing to cater for visitors.
"We have regularly reviewed the experimental closure of the Swing Bridge and believe that the current arrangements are working. The findings of the trial pedestrianisation will be considered in more detail in the coming weeks when a decision will also be made on how the closures will be managed in the future. We will then be in a better position to review both on-street and off-street parking in the town in partnership with Scarborough Borough Council.
"In line with our experience of the Park and Rides in Scarborough, there is not sufficient demand during the winter months to warrant keeping the sites open and would not be a good use of taxpayers’ money. Whilst there may be the very occasional weekend of higher visitor numbers, overall the demand for its use during the winter months remains low."
Cllr Tony Randerson, Scarborough Borough Council cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said:
“For a number of years we have recognised that Whitby and other parts of the borough are busy and popular year round destinations for day trips, short breaks and longer stays. We plan the provision of our services with this level of demand in mind.
“Given the challenging times our cleansing teams continue to operate in, including the pressures of Covid-19 self-isolation, they continue to go above and beyond to keep our towns and villages as clean and welcoming as possible for visitors and residents.”