The saga surrounding the continued closure of the East Hill Lift continued this week the council claimed it was testing issues and not a lack of funding which was delaying the re-opening.
The Observer reported last week that the popular Old Town attraction would not be opening again later this year as planned.
Instead visitors and locals alike will not be able to use the funicular - which is the steepest in the UK - until March ne
xt year.
This means the lift will have been closed for more than two years after it dramatically crashed following a control panel failure.
At the time the council's tourism boss Kevin Boorman said it would re-open with a matter of weeks.
During a council meeting last week, councillors questioned whether the local authority could justify paying out the sort of sum being quoted by engineers - believed to be in excess of £260,000.
And some councillors said they were keen to go back to the firms involved and try and get a better deal.
However, Mr Boorman, who is already 98 weeks late in his prediction of when the 105-year-old lift would re-opn, said the delay has nothing to do with the authority's finances.
Mr Boorman said: "There is no question at all that the council cannot afford the repair bill for the lift.
"The major cause of the delay has been the inspection and testing of the equipment following the original incident and then working with the Health and Safety Executive to ensure that the specification and modernisation is to current standards.
"However, adapting Victorian technology to meet 21st Century standards took far longer than we expected.
"A lot of work is involved, all of which must be safety checked at every stage. We are providing replacement carriages for the East Hill Lift, refurbishing the chassis, repairing the track, replacing the control system and drive system, providing enhanced safety braking, replacing the motor, replacing the buffers and providing a number of other safety devices.
"We have also spent time trying to get the best value for the major items by considerable research into potential suppliers and designs.
"We are as keen as anyone to get the lift running again but we have to do it properly, and safely.
"Some readers may remember that the lift was closed for three years during the mid 1970s for similar works - but the complexity of legislation and technology has meant that things take longer to get them right."
The funicular attracted more than 200,000 a year and was considered a vital link between the Old Town and East Hill area for disabled and elderly residents.
