A LANDMARK building that once helped guide seafarers to safety has been fully restored – and will soon re-open to the public.

An £86,000 project to restore the West Pier lighthouse in Whitby has been completed and it will soon re-open for the first time in four years.

The lighthouse was built in 1831 from locally quarried stone. It stands 22 metres tall and is approximately 2.5 metres in diameter.

It served as a navigational aid to shipping with its light visible for more than 10 miles up until 1914 when its function was replaced by more modern navigational aids.

However, the building itself remained and in 1972 the lighthouse became a Grade II listed structure.

It was open to the public as a historic attraction up until 2012 when it closed because of the serious deterioration of its condition and a lack of funds to rectify the problems.

However a £50,000 grant from the Department for Communities and Local Government Coastal Revival Fund, topped up by harbour funds, has now seen the work carried out.

It has involved repairs to areas of the external stone work, internal works to glazing, windows and the staircase and also steelwork reinforcing.

Local cabinet member for harbours and assets, Cllr Mike Cockerill, said: “While it hasn’t performed as a functional lighthouse for many decades, it has always been a key feature of Whitby’s harbour scene and much photographed landscape.

“The successful culmination of the restoration project, on time and within budget, means it will remain so for many generations to come.”

The project was carried out by York-based restoration and preservation contractor, Lanstone Conservation, and the lighthouse is expected to re-open next month.