Whitby's east pier balls up

I recently had a letter printed in the Yorkshire post regarding Whitby’s east pier balls up. It is a bit of a rant, and made me laugh when I saw it published as I was in a bit of a bad mood when I wrote it having learnt Scarborough Borough council are saying they have no funds to replace the east pier bridge. There is one bit of the letter that I believe now to be factually incorrect as I am reliably informed the bill for Scarboroughs Marine drive is closer the 60 million mark.

The letter reads as follows

Exerting pier pressure
From: Glenn Kilpatrick,
St Peters Court, Whitby.
I AM appalled at Scarborough Council’s inability to repair the East Pier in Whitby (Yorkshire Post, August 8). It has been out of bounds to sea anglers for far too long.
The council always passes on the blame, saying there is no budget for repairs.
Well, no wonder it hasn’t the funds: it spent £25m-plus on Scarborough’s Marine Drive sea defences only a couple of years ago. Whenever cash is needed in the Scarborough area, suddenly it can be found.
It would easily be possible to fabricate a one-piece-span bridge to reconnect the East Pier, restore Whitby’s heritage and give back the only place worth fishing to the local sea anglers.
I also note that 90 per cent of Whitby’s West Pier is also out of bounds to anglers because of a corroded handrail. How long will it be before this is put right?Perhaps the council should put up a big sign outside Whitby saying: “Anglers not welcome here. Please find somewhere else to fish”.
They could, perhaps, suggest Scarborough’s Marine Drive as an alternative?

The letter can be read at

http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=101&ArticleID=1705891