Is what's left of the 'West Pier' worth saving?

The Large One said:

Declared unsafe and closed in 1975, it has been left to nature to decide its fate over the past four decades.


A potted history, courtesy of Wikipedia...

The West Pier was opened in 1866 with a length of 1115 feet, and built with cast iron threaded columns screwed into the seabed. The pier did not have much of a superstructure until 1893 when a pier head was extended and a pavilion added. A concert hall was added in 1916 and a new top-deck entrance in 1932. In 1965 the pier was bought by a company that owned some seafront hotels and entertainment venues. They had ambitions for the pier but as maintenance costs increased the pier was closed in 1975 when Brighton Corporation declined to buy it and the pier passed into the hands of the Crown Estates Commissioners. A trust was formed to save the pier and in 1984 they bought it for a nominal sum.

The West Pier had been cut off from the shore (partly deliberately, for safety reasons) since the early 1990s. A break was also caused by high winds in 1987, but the West Pier trust offered regular tours of it until the structure suffered a serious partial collapse during a storm on 29 December 2002, when a walkway connecting the concert hall and pavilion fell into the sea. On 20 January 2003 a further collapse saw the destruction of the concert hall in the middle of the pier. On 28 March 2003 the pavilion at the end of the pier caught fire. Firefighters were unable to save the building from destruction because the collapsed walkway prevented them from reaching it. The cause of the fire remains unknown, since fire investigators were unable to access the site for safety reasons. On 11 May 2003, another fire broke out, consuming most of what was left of the concert hall. The fire re-ignited on 12 May. Arson was suspected: the West Pier Trust refers to the fires as the work of "professional arsonists". Suggested beneficiaries to ending any possible development of the West Pier either local residents who objected to a new development on the sea front, or the threat of competition to the lucrative Palace Pier's business.

On 23 June 2004 high winds caused the middle of the pier to collapse completely. Despite all these setbacks, the West Pier Trust remained adamant that they would soon begin full restoration work. Finally, in December 2004, the Trust conceded defeat, after their plans were rejected by the Heritage Lottery Fund, in part because of problems with achieving the required "matched funding" from outside sources. Subsequent plans to restore only the oldest, structural parts of the pier were eventually rejected by English Heritage. In September 2005 the Trust revealed in their newsletter that they were forming further plans to rebuild the original structure with help from private funding.

The pier was partially demolished in February 2010, mainly to make way for the new i360 observation tower, and for some safety concerns. In February 2014 due to stormy weather the pier split in half and a large part of the centre fell into the sea.



Should nature continue to do its job, or should the money be finally spent on its restoration/re-building?

Poll to follow.

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vegster said:

Just had a look on the Arsegas website and saw this in the corner....

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/weat...r_collapses_expected_at_Brighton_s_West_Pier/

In the comments section right at the top I saw this which sums things up nicely.

" Wasted opportunity to tackle a proper story and to get real questions answered:

1. What is the point of the West Pier Trust now there is no pier or plans for a pier to be entrusted?

2. Where is the Trust getting its funding and what has it done with the funding from previous years?

3. What is the Trust's view on what should happen with the burnt out tangle that is left of our treasured pier after it failed to protect it?

The above quote from Rachel Clarke disgusts me. Where is the message? Where is the intention or the passion to show the town that something, anything is being done other than build a structure that is literally in a totally different direction to what the Trust was entrusted to do. No one wants the i360.

Worse still is that the West Pier Trust couldn't even retain the land end of the pier! What is left on our seafront is an utter mess and constant reminder of the failings of the Trust who have since flogged off most of what was salvaged from the West Pier. "

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symyjym said:

These are their accounts and a massive percentage of costs are on staff.

View attachment 51207
This is just five of the 33 years accounts and it shows an overspend of a £100k plus.

You can view each years accounts for a breakdown of expensives by following this link.

http://apps.charitycommission.gov.u...steredCharityNumber=280177&SubsidiaryNumber=0

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vegster said:

Looks like they only exist to support themselves.

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symyjym said:

Yep, I think it was in 2010 -2011 they auctioned off and sold remnants of the Pier and they raised £163k over that period, whilst expenses were £171k.

Last year the staff costs alone were £47k.

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vegster said:

What is left on our seafront is an utter mess and constant reminder of the failings of the Trust who have since flogged off most of what was salvaged from the West Pier. "

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Questions said:

What is left of OUR seaftont ? bloody turncoat. Look at her with her posh Brighton friends. You just bloody remember where YOUR seafront is. You should be ashamed.

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Questions said:

What is left of OUR seaftont ? bloody turncoat. Look at her with her posh Brighton friends. You just bloody remember where YOUR seafront is. You should be ashamed.

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vegster said:

Maybe you should remember which one of us is going to Belgium in the next week as well ?

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Questions said:

20 of us going in June. Anyway just remember where you pay your council taxes you upstart.

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vegster said:

Well thanks for the invite !

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