This Thursday, members of the Property Disposal and Capital Programme Sub Committee will be asked to approve a recommendation to proceed with £750k worth of works to Shanklin Cliff Lift, an important link from the cliff path and the town to the seafront.
As well as unexpected deterioration of the steelwork on the footbridge – which has resulted in its temporary closure – works to the plant in the motor room are needed to avoid unexpected closures should replacement parts be needed.
Motor room works
A paper before the sub-committee on Thursday states the works on the bridge and motor room are now dependent on the other.
The existing plant in the motor room located at the top of the lift shaft is now over 50 years old and while there is a maintenance contract in place, the company has stated that it cannot guarantee the availability of spare parts. This could result in a long term closure while replacement parts are sourced.
These works were originally scoped and tendered for in previous years, but deferred as it was not considered necessary or prudent to proceed with them without refurbishing/replacing the bridge.
Importance of lift
The Shanklin Hotel and Accommodation Association (see email below) argue that if the council are encouraging visitors to leave their cars at home, as many of the cliff top hoteliers do, visitors must have a means of getting to the seafront.
According to the paperwork, the lift generates around £40,000 pa net income for the council. Carrying out the works will extend the life of the lift by 25 year and thereby continue to contribute to the economic development of the area.
Local Transport Plan funding
To pay for the bulk of the works, the council propose to re-allocate £683,000 of Local Transport Plan (LTP) funding. Should that be approved by the Executive on Thursday (their meeting follows the sub-committee), the remainder of the money needed will be funded by a loan (£5,256pa over 20 years).
Members are being asked to approve:
Proceed with, the motor room works and replacement of the link bridge in late 2015/early 2016 at an estimated cost of £758,094; this will be funded utilising the £683k LTP funding but will require an allocate of £58,094 capital funding in the 2015/16
The paper
Full details in the paper below. Click on full screen icon to see larger version.
Image: scentnoodle under CC BY 2.0
