This is the response that was given by Cllr Ashby in relation to the lift at a council meeting in Feb 22. There is also a link to the meeting. I am grateful to a local councillor who passed this on and also asked for an update regarding the lift. 

Barry Stickings Mbe
Cllr Ashbee’s response to question regarding the lift at Viking Bay Broadstairs. 

“Broadstairs lift will open at Easter and, as long as nothing goes wrong with the lift, then it will continue to work under the asset of Thanet District Council.
BUT, and this is the but, if the lift was to go wrong at any time after it was opened, there is NO recourse to Thanet District Council. There are no funds to actually mend it and get it back online. I am trying to find a solution, a long-term solution, for this lift and quite frankly if the Council (B&SPTC) are of a mind to take it on there will be other ways of raising the additional money.
You do not need to spend today any money on the lift to have it working, it actually is run all through the winter for maintenance purposes.
What I’m trying to do is find a long-term future for the Broadstairs lift, BUT what we can’t do as a District Council…we do not have the budget to keep fixing the lift time and time again. We need to get it to a sustainable position, we need to spend that sort of money on it, it is around £87-£90….it depends on which part of the actual mechanics, the maintenance part, you want to do.
I have got the full reports supplied by the officers. Those reports have now been sent to Cllr Binks because she was the one who initiated the conversation, so I’m sure she will bring it to Broadstairs Town Council where you can all decide whether you want to take the lift or not and weigh up the risks of not taking it and the risks of taking it. It is not my decision; I am just making an offer to give Broadstairs Town Council the lift and a donation to go with it of £50,000.”
You can watch it here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsXDvRKl2ZE