Cafe plan for old cliff lift
Scenesetter The St Nicholas clifflift Picture by Neil Silk 120545a 03/02/12
SCARBOROUGH’S iconic St Nicholas Cliff lift could be given a new lease of life as an open air cafe.
Plans to transform the historic 83-year-old structure have formally been submitted to Scarborough Council.
If they get the go-ahead, the existing lifts would be moved back to the top of the cliff and be made into an indoor dining and seating area.
Food and drinks would be served from a kiosk, while a canopy-covered outdoor seating area and a balcony around the car lifts would also be put in place. A toilet would be built in the lift’s existing winch room.
Scarborough-based architects Hayes and Associates said they had incorporated design features of Victorian and Parisian street cafes to come up with “a simple, elegant, small-scale cafe which embraces its fortunate position”.
Scarborough and District Civic Society led a campaign to save the St Nicholas Cliff lift, after the council said in 2009 that the structure would be completely removed.
The group’s chairman, Adrian Perry, said: “We view this development as positive. It will be an improvement because it’s derelict at the moment. I think the design is sympathetic to the structure that is there. The lift may not be operational but it still celebrates the fact that we had these wonderful things.
“I think it celebrates Scarborough’s heritage of funiculars. This is a way to retain a connection with the past.”
Hayes Associates submitted the plans on behalf of Scalby resident Andrew Atkins.
It is planned that the cafe, which would cover 77 square metres, will open between 7am and 11pm, creating five jobs.
If the cafe proves a success, it could be expanded in future years.
The application said: “The original intention for the scheme was to be much grander on scale and design. However, with the current economic climate it was thought to be too big a risk to take in an unknown market.
“This proposal will establish if there is a demand from the public and may serve to allow a more ambitious development in the future.”
The St Nicholas Cliff lift was closed in 2006 as the council did not have the £450,000 needed to bring it into line with health and safety regulations.
After no private company came forward to run the lift, council chiefs voted to sell it on the condition that the developer removed the lift and landscaped the area.
But at the last minute councillors opted to mothball the lift once again and seek out alternative uses.
The standard consultation period for the cafe plans will expire on February 23.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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Comments
There are 18 comments to this article
Page 1 of 2
Drogo
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 08:01 PMHow come a café enclosing 77 sq meters and open for 16 hours a day, one assumes for seven days a week in the season, will only employ 5 people? Sounds like someone's business plan is under estimating wages costs...
Herrmann
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 07:23 PMIf it has to be a cafe - then please a traditional british one with proper bacon sandwiches and no new fangled same-tasting wraps please
oldboro
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 03:51 PMWould a Cafe set up in the lift cars not have to brought up to date with the Health and Safety Regulations as mentioned in the article? Where is all this Lottery Funding going i think they should foot the bill for upgrading H&S Regs as part of the countries heritage, could even sell Lottery Tickets to the public when you buy a ticket to go up or down.
bignose
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 08:53 AMIt's gone as a lift! The council won't foot the bill to get it up and running, there are no private companies chasing it! At least it will look better than a pile of rotting rusting scrap!
baconroll
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 11:41 PMHow is this giving the lift a new lease of life? Yet another part of our heritage bites the dust because the council have not maintained it thus allowing it to become too expensive to get running again. The list is getting longer!
Bluebird One
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 05:36 PMWhat a JOKE, a lift that does'nt lift. Not another cafe the town is full of them, and they charge to much for a drink. I think it's APRIL 1st already.
hometownboy
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 02:11 PMif its the only way to save the cliff lifts than it has to be worth considering . The structure needs to be in keeping with the surrounding buildings so the roof on the plans is a complete nono as far as im concerned.
spy
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 10:14 AMStrip club I say. Offering 'happy endings'. A gentleman could have a lift in the lift, followed by a 'lift' in the club. I would gladly pay the 60p cliff lift tariff. Does it really matter what Joe Boro says? They'll do what they want to do. Then ask for a handout when I all goes wrong.
Renshaw Woods
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 10:09 AMThis is the kind of thing that would help Scarborough. Its not large, but different. Believe it or not, there is a fun factor in having a cuppa sat in one of the lifts. Who is going to spend time sat on top of the empty freezing oat in winter. A little caff here could open all year round maybe. More income for local suppliers and tradesmen and women. Cor. Thank gawd for the tourists.
markdrum
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 09:59 AMHow many cafe's do we need? Better than nothing I suppose.
horace jonhson
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 09:29 AMThe fact is that the lifts are not viable, or they wouldhave been snapped up by now. If I remember correctly even a lift company backheeled them......Nice to see this new venture starting up, especially in the current harsh economical climate. Best of luck to them, I hope it is successful
Earth Angel
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 08:33 AMThe lifts are something that in future may be able to be repaired so that needs to be kept in mind not turning them into a cafe and closing it down when times are hard - an easy way to get rid of the lifts at a later date.
Idon'tbelieveit!
Saturday, February 4, 2012 at 11:48 PMI formally objected to the disposal of this lift as an important part of the history and culture of Scarborough. The lift should have been repaired before the costs became so high but even £450,000 is a small price to pay for an elegant and practical piece of artistic history. Value for money considering the waste, by the council, of £3.5 million pounds of our money poured into the White Elephant known as the OAT which, unlike the lift, was never going to relive the magic it once enjoyed back in its prime. I also objected formally to that idea. The lift should have been preserved and maintained as well as the Castle or the Rotunda or the Marine Drive. However I wish the new owners well in their venture as better to have a good cafe than another glaring empty space such as the Northbay Swimming Pool, Kinderland and possibly even the afore mentioned OAT.
badger464
Saturday, February 4, 2012 at 11:29 PMWhy is it necessary to ensure the end of a piece of the town's heritage just to open a cafe, cafes open and close all over the place so why here other than to seal the fate of another part of past? We have seen plans for increased sea defences at the spa and rock armour around the harbour, isn't it obvious the effect these plans will have on the already worryingly high, high tide level at the south bay? The base of this cliff lift has some elevation over the rest of the bay, its only a matter of time before it becomes glaringly obvious that running this lift down was the wrong choice.
Clevelandway
Saturday, February 4, 2012 at 08:15 PMSuperb idea. A fitting tribute to the cliff lifts.
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