A SEASIDE cliff lift will have to shut unless a multi-thousand pound restoration scheme is carried out.
Whitby's 200-year-old lift, on the resort's West Cliff, has been so well used by thousands of holidaymakers every year that it is wearing out, say engineers.
But Scarborough Borough Council's tourism director, Peter Dahl, said that without it, young families and pensioners would have to make long walks down meandering cliff paths to get to the beach and holiday chalets.
One of the original two lift cars was decommissioned three years ago, because of technical problems, and the remaining one needs a major overhaul.
More than 30,000 people a year use the lift, said Mr Dahl.
The council's cabinet is being recommended to approve spending £150,000 to provide a new lift car, refurbish the lift shaft and carry out other improvements.
The lift on Scarborough's North Side was sold two years ago and re-built on a cliff side in Cornwall.
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