North Bay footbridge will not be removed

A PLAN to demolish a footbridge over Scarborough’s 20in gauge North Bay Railway has been stopped in its tracks.

The 1960s bridge near Northstead Manor Gardens, part of a pedestrian link between the North Bay seafront and Burniston Road, has been out of use for two years over safety concerns, after an inspection report highlighted severe defects to the concrete structure and the steel balustrade.

It was estimated that the required repairs would cost £79,000.

The landowner, Scarborough Borough Council, applied for planning permission to demolish the bridge, with provisions for enhancing pedestrian access over a level crossing on the railway, but the plan was refused at a meeting of its planning committee on November 7 after councillors said that the structure was needed.