He says: “It is very strange that both piers are very much part of Whitby, but there seems to be no-one willing to repair them?”

There is actually a very easy answer to your question Alan.

Scarborough Borough Council (SBC) covers the town of Whitby.

The town and its visitors contribute hundreds of thousands of pounds to the council coffers each year but get little or nothing in return.

To add insult to injury and rub a sack full of salt into the wound, SBC, while refusing to spend money on the East Pier in Whitby, are proposing to spend millions of pounds on ‘Scarborough harbour bridges to link its piers’.

This on the surface is insult enough but it is none other than Coun Mike Ward from Whitby’s West Cliff ward who helped write the report who said: “The idea would need further consultation but it could improve the area as a tourist destination.”

Surely it is now time for the people of Whitby to start action to remove itself from the clutches of this greedy council.

John Palethorpe, Marias Court, Scarborough, via email



After reading your sister newpaper, the Scarborough Evening News, on 17 September, I was delighted to read the harbour piers were to be bridged.

My delight turned to dismay when I read the article and learnt the piers were in fact at Scarborough.

The piers at Whitby can crumble and fall into the sea before anything is done.

Winter is approaching and the piers will be battered by the sea for months.

Soon there will be no east pier to repair and Scarborough Council will spend yet more money on projects to further enhance the jewel in the crown.

People in Whitby don’t want to take anything away from Scarborough, but we all pay council tax, Whitby, Scarborough and Filey, all we ask for is a fair share of the pie, not just the crumbs.

Lesley Denise Pearson, Helredale Road, Whitby