AN END might be in sight for the saga of the trouble-hit seafront building near Saltburn Pier.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council is expected to take over as owners from Saltburn Improvement Company soon.

Coun Dave Fitzpatrick, the council's cabinet member for leisure, criticised the SIC over the white-coloured £600,000 building, which has lain unused for about three years.

"The project was ill-conceived from the start and has cost council taxpayers a lot to rescue it," he said.

In December, he had said that neither the design nor location would have been chosen "if I had been around".

Coun Fitzpatrick, of Loftus, said remedial work on making sure the building was watertight was nearly finished.

"It is looking good. There is one tiny patch of damp which should go with another coating.

"It is costing £25,000 to bring it up to standard with repainting, some rust removal and fitting up-to-date alarms."

Some of the money had been spent on improving access for disabled people, which was a recently-arisen issue.

He said he hoped the council would be able to take over the building by the end of January.

Two tenants have been lined up, to run a bistro and a kite business. A third unit is still available. The building will include showers for surfers.

Coun Fitzpatrick said a barrister's opinion would be sought over possibly reclaiming money spent on curing the leak-faults from contractors and/or architects responsible for the construction, who both deny liability.

The project has been plagued with problems since the SIC decided to put up the building, mostly with money from the Government-backed Rural Challenge scheme.

Problems included finding funding, increased costs, a sewer pipe under the road and a landslip following a long spell of heavy rain.

When it was virtually completed, it was found to be damp. The council undertook to carry out remedial work, which is now nearing completion.

The SIC won a £1m Rural Challenge grant from the (then Conservative) Government in 1997. Its main remit was job and business creation.

The grant had to be spent within three years, but the SIC remains in being.

One of the four directors - all unpaid volunteers - Ian Duncan said the seafront building was built in partnership with the council and with a lot of consultation.

"It was thought to be a good project at the time. Now we are stuck with it through no fault of the council nor SIC.

"Either the contractors or the architects have got it wrong, leading to an ingress of water."

Mr Duncan said the SIC's "exit strategy" was for profits from letting the building to be ploughed back into the town. Some £90,000 in rent had been lost through the building not being completed.

About the expected handing over of the building to the council, Mr Duncan said SIC directors were in discussions with council officers.

About the SIC's other main project, the Marske Road artists' workshops and gallery, he said the plan was for it to be transferred to the newly-formed Saltburn Artists' Projects.

"We are waiting for additional funding to repair the roof of Hawman's garage adjoining the workshops. Then it would be transferred to this project and SIC would have no further interest in it."

Mr Duncan said the directors hoped the SIC would be wound up when the ownership of these two projects was completed.

The other three SIC directors are Joan Guy, Jackie Taylor and Alec Mallory