Larpool Viaduct, Whitby
Whitby, North YorkshireRailway PathsJune 2025
Annual de-vegetation and brickwork de-scaling on a 13-arch viaduct spanning an active holiday park.
Challenge
Larpool Viaduct is a conservation asset spanning an active holiday park. Works needed to balance preserving historic integrity with ensuring public safety below — and could not interrupt the holiday park.
Approach
Rope-access technicians accessed the piers, barrels and parapets to systematically remove vegetation and deteriorated brickwork in a controlled, non-invasive manner.
Outcome
Annual maintenance completed safely with no closures or major interference, helping Railway Paths meet their safety obligations efficiently and discreetly.
Project specifications.
- Structure
- 13-arch brick viaduct, Whitby — c. 1885
- Span / height
- 275m × 38m at maximum height
- Scope
- Vegetation clearance + de-scaling of friable brickwork
- Heritage status
- Grade II listed conservation asset
- Public safety constraint
- Spans active Whitby holiday park — exclusion zones managed daily
- Method
- IRATA rope from parapet, no MEWP / no scaffold
- Programme
- 10 working days annual maintenance window
- Recurring contract
- Annual return — Railway Paths framework