‘Unsightly’ historic steps in Scarborough to be repaired after delays

‘Unsightly’ and ‘hazardous’ Grade II listed steps in North Yorkshire will be repaired and renovated by the council after plans were given the go-ahead.

An updated plan to reinstate Scarborough’s historic Museum Steps and the retaining wall has been approved after more than a year of complaints from local residents who had called on North Yorkshire Council to complete the works.

The steps provide an important and popular thoroughfare for pedestrians from Scarborough town centre to South Sands/Foreshore Road, connecting Museum Terrace to Spa Bridge and Cliff Bridge Terrace above.

The substantive works will involve the insertion of a frame to support the steps after plans were submitted this spring.

A survey of the steps by Align Property Services in April 2025 found that their overall condition is “very poor, with large gaps between steps – there is visible vertical settlement at the centre point of the steps with some steps showing signs of horizontal displacement and vegetation emerging from gaps in between steps”.

Following consultation with the council’s conservation officer, the authority said a further inspection would have to be undertaken by a conservation-accredited structural engineer.

Based on advice from a consultant structural engineering company, the scheme was amended to remove the use of a concrete frame and padstone support to bear the load of the main step.

Instead, a less invasive solution will involve the installation of a steel frame anchored to the side walls.

The engineers said that approach would provide a long-term remedial solution that helps retain the existing fabric, causes minimal damage to the stone walls, and would be “relatively straightforward to install”.

At a meeting of the Scarborough and Whitby Area Planning Committee last week, members voted unanimously to approve the application.

The scheme was unanimously approved at the planning meeting on Thursday, August 13.