The Worshipful the Mayor of Southend, Cllr Stephen Habermel, today attended the official unveiling of a commemorative plaque at Southend’s historic cliff lift.
Southend's unique cliff lift has been recognised by the National Transport Trust's Red Wheel scheme and the Mayor was joined by His Majesty's Lord Lieutenant of Essex, Mrs Jenny Tolhurst, Lady Judy McAlpine, president of the National Transport Trust, cliff lift volunteers and other guests.
The scheme commemorates the most significant sites of historical importance to transport heritage in the United Kingdom and the cliff lift has been recognised for having a unique single car counter-balanced by a weight running directly beneath the main track.
The Worshipful the Mayor of Southend, Cllr Stephen Habermel, said: “This is a great honour for our unique cliff lift to be nationally recognised in this way and I'd like to thank the Lord Lieutenant of Essex, Mrs Jenny Tolhurst, and Lady Judy McAlpine for helping to mark this special occasion and attending today's formal unveiling.
“I am delighted for all of the volunteers who give up their time to keep this wonderful Southend attraction in operation. The lift, which turns 111 this year, has proved to be incredibly popular with residents and visitors, especially after the 50p fee was dropped. Of course, donations are still very much welcome to help keep this unique piece of Southend history open and operational. I'd also like to thank Seven Hotel for providing refreshments today.”
Cllr Derek Jarvis, cabinet member for arts, culture, heritage and leisure, added: “Thousands of people have been using the lift and none of this would be possible without our fantastic volunteers who are trained to operate the lift.
“We are looking to recruit more volunteers to ensure we continue to keep the historic cliff lift operational all year round and anyone interested can pop along to the cliff lift and meet our experienced volunteers who will gladly help with the process of becoming a volunteer.”
The cliff lift is located between Clifton Terrace and Western Esplanade and is open from 10.30am until 3pm daily, but this is dependent on volunteer availability. If you are interested in volunteering, then pop along during these times and a cliff lift operator will be able to help you.
For more information about the Red Wheel scheme visit the National Transport Trust website.