Hopes lift that tram will open seven days a week
VISITORS to Saltburn have been promised by Redcar and Cleveland Council that the town’s cliff lift will be open seven days a week in time for the start of the school holidays.
Meanwhile, local councillors have told the Local Democracy Reporting Service of their sadness and frustration that the Victorian-built tramway has been in operation to the public for only a handful of days since the start of the pandemic in early 2020.
The attraction – which is the oldest water-balanced cliff ‘funicular’ still in operation in Great Britain and the second oldest in the world – was due to open at Easter this year, but a problem spotted during a routine maintenance check halted the plans.
It did open the day before the Platinum Jubilee weekend, but was then closed on the Monday for four days.
Last month the council posted a notice stating the lift, which takes people from the Foreshore to Marine Parade and back, would be out of action for several weeks on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, due to staff training.
It is restricted to a Thursday to Sunday schedule, however the council said it was expected the tramway will “once again be operating every day in time for the school summer holidays” after training is complete.
Saltburn councillor Philip Thomson said: “It’s very sad for residents and visitors that such an iconic part of Saltburn’s history has stood idle for so long and continues to be limited in its opening hours.
“Well over a million pounds has been invested in the facility in recent years, part of which resulted from poor maintenance and neglect, although no man-made structure erected in Victorian times will last forever.”
Cllr Thomson claimed previous council investigations had yet to be published and scrutinised, and confirmed the current restricted opening times had been due to not having enough trained staff in place after the extended closure period.
He added: “I have requested a copy of the business plan for the cliff lift, along with copies of business plans for all the activities and assets along the Foreshore area so a greater understanding can be had as to how the council structures and manages these collective tourist assets.”
Fellow Saltburn councillor Craig Hannaway said he was “really frustrated” at the council’s inability to keep the cliff lift regularly open and suggested it may be better in the hands of a community interest group.
He said: “When I was in the cabinet in the last administration, we spent nearly a million pounds on a major restoration of the carriages, tracks and mechanism. But still there were minor technical problems such as the wifi signal between the two stations, which were apparently enough to close it on safety grounds.”
Cllr Hannaway said staffing problems seemed to be an issue and suggested that “in these straitened times the council is forced to rely on a very small team with very little back up”.
He added: “I know other cliff lifts around the UK also have technical problems, but I sometimes think it would be run better if it belonged to a community interest organisation which would have access to heritage funding, as the council seems to find it so difficult to keep it open.”
A resident who contacted the LDRS and has tracked the tramway’s closures in the past few years, said the “saga” had “gone from bad to worse” and followed extensive closures and significant investment that had taken place in 2018 and 2019.
After being closed in March 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions the attraction remained closed for the remainder of the year, while the likes of the Scarborough spa cliff lift reopened in August. The Saltburn cliff lift was also closed all of the next year, despite all covid restrictions being removed in July 2021.
The resident questioned why staff could not be “trained on the job”.
In a statement Redcar and Cleveland Council said: “Due to staffing issues we have not been able to run seven days a week so far, but new colleagues have now been appointed and are being trained and it is expected the tramway will once again be operating every day in time for the school summer holidays.
“This Victorian attraction, which attracted more than 150,000 people in its last fully operational year, still operates as it was designed. However, modern safety systems have to be used which means that occasionally it must be temporarily closed for checks and maintenance.”