Video: Safety police fence off Whitby’s sea view

Scarborough Council installed temporary railings on a section of the promenade above West Cliff beach in Whitby earlier this month amid safety concerns.

They are due to be replaced with permanent railings in the autumn.

However, chalet users say they were put up without consultation and are spoiling a view that has changed little in decades.

Maggie Hall, whose family has used one of the colourful chalets for 65 years, said: “One of my great pleasures, one shared by many chalet users, is to hole-up in the chalet on a miserable, rainy day with a cuppa, a book and the papers, gazing at that wonderful sight of the beach and the tide.

“I know there are many things to worry about in this world but it breaks my heart to think that Scarborough Borough Council has robbed us of that view and pleasure.”

Whitby artist Dave Jeffery, who regularly paints the view, said: “It’s changed the whole aspect. For anyone who has a beach hut, sitting out on a deck chair all they will see are metal railings in front of them instead of the view they will have been used to for many, many decades. It was a beautiful view.

“The railings look like crowd barriers; they are very ugly.”

The council said the tide and weather had reduced the level of sand on the beach in recent years, increasing the height of the drop between the promenade and the beach.

Andy Skelton, the council’s director of service delivery, said: “We were keen to address chalet users’ safety concerns and took action to install temporary railings ahead of the last bank holiday weekend, which is viewed by many as the start of the summer season. We plan to replace the temporary railings with permanent ones in keeping with the railings used along other parts of the promenade.”