The West Pier on Restoration

[Curious Orange]

Just seen the tragic state of the West Pier on Restoration. I hope this beautiful building, closed in the year of my birth, is restored soon.

Nice to see the Palace Pier being referred to as just that throughout the programme too. Brighton Pier my arse!!

 

[elbowpatches]

Got to be restored, surely. Would be a fantastic attraction for the city and is part of our cultural heritage.

 

[marvin]

I suspect it is now well past restoration. It may now be better to go for a new pier to serve this century rather than the last one.

 

[Lush]

Get rid of the old dear and build a fantastic modern structure that will piss on the Palace Pier.

(Preferably made out of inflammable material for when the Ignoble Organisation come a calling....)

 

[Curious Orange]

You aren't encouraging fire hazards to be built on Brighton's sea front are you Lush!?!

 

[coach03]

I can't go along with all this restoration tosh ! At best it will be a replica - surely it's too far gone.
As I've said before, pull it down and spend the money on a radical new design and erect a sparkling addition to our city that will be an icon for the 21st Century - instead of a decrepit remnant of the 19th century.

I don't go with the critics who say 'We've got a pier, why do we need another?'
Well, Blackpool have three and they make them all pay OK. Surely a new pier would be designed to provide an alternative attraction to the Palace pier, not a direct competitor. And as for the "Noble Organisation" have you ever heard such a misnomer !

Good thread; Sorry for the rant !

 

[Lush]

Agree with Coach 03.

(Don't you get a nice crowd on NSC in the evening?)

 

[BRIGHT ON Q]

parrots

 

[Shizuoka Dolphin]

It's such a state now, and being at the bottom of my road, I find it an eyesore!

Seriosuly though, there's no reason why Brighton cannot support two piers, and competition is good. Especially when it's a comapny like Noble with the Palace Pier holding the monopoly.

 

[coach03]

parrots

No, Seagulls !

 

[Le Premier Cru]

I want to see it restored.

So we lose 300 yds of seafront views. Big deal. It's only a small part of the stretch from Black Rock to beyond the Hove lagoon.

Every seaside town has seafront views. We're the only one (sorry, city) that can boast a Grade 1 listed pier. It should never've been allowed to fall into the state of disrepair that it has and we must restore it while it's still possible.

...and then rebuild the Chain Pier. Now that would be an attraction.

 

[Lord Cornwallis]

Build a new 21st century pier for our city. The finest in Europe, a big f*** off shiney one.

 

[Bwian]

I want to see it restored.

So we lose 300 yds of seafront views. Big deal. It's only a small part of the stretch from Black Rock to beyond the Hove lagoon.

Every seaside town has seafront views. We're the only one (sorry, city) that can boast a Grade 1 listed pier. It should never've been allowed to fall into the state of disrepair that it has and we must restore it while it's still possible

But it is no longer the structure that was listed is it? All that is left is the skeletal frame and in all honesty is no longer worthy of its listed status. Restoring will be a total re-build which again doesn't justify being listed. It'll be a bit like one of us building a kit car based on a classic car and then asking the DVLA to treat it as the original classic.

Why bother with it any more?

It is time to pull it down and start from scratch with a 21st century design, 21st century materials and 21st century attractions/ideas. Brighton has enough old buildings to satisfy everybody who likes that kind of thing but very little else. Seriously-what is there for a young family to do when they arrive in Brighton? The Palace Pier, a couple of tacky arcades and not much more.

The West Pier is symbolic of all that is bad about Brighton: it takes forever for the authorities to make a decision on important issues and by the time a decision is close to being made it's too late!

Let's tear down all the scrap steel that keeps being referred to as The West Pier, put something spectacular in its place and use it to help shake off the NIMBY shackles that continually hold Brighton back.

 

[MRRF 10]

noble have a monopoly, how come there is only one monopolies commision?

 

[Braders]

they've got to do it - and they've got to do it now ! if they did it when they said it would of cost half the price it would cost now !

 

[Bwian]

Why?

Isn't it time to put the whole shambles where it belongs-in the history book?

The West Pier has gone but it can be used to give Brighton and Hove the kick up the backside it needs to rid itself of the influence of the selfish few that continually spoil things for the majority.

Build something new which will probably be less expensive and then channel the spare funds into Falmer-the stadium not the shitty little village with the rat infested pond.

 

[London Calling]

THE WEST PIER IS OUR HERITAGE, THE RESTORATION PROGRAMME HAS BEEN EXCELLENT IN HIGHLIGHTING, THAT CIVIC AUTHORITIES HAVE A DUTY TO MAINTAIN AND RESTORE OUR HERITAGE.

THE PROGRAMME HAS ALSO SHOWN THE LARGE NUMBER OF BUILDINGS THAT HAVE FALLEN INTO A POOR STATE, OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS. AS LOCAL AUTHORITIES HAVE HAD THEIR BUDGETS CUT, OTHER PUBLIC AUTHORITIES IN THE SAME POSITION BEING LED BY ACCOUNTANTS WITHOUT A SOCIAL CONCIOUS. LA'S HAVE THE LARGEST NUMBER OF LISTED BUILDINGS IN A POOR STATE OF AFFAIRS AND HAVE RESPONSIBILITY IN CONJUNCTION WITH ENGLISH HERITAGE FOR MAINTAINING LISTED BUILDINGS.

MAGARET THATCHER AND TONY BLAIR YOU HAVE A LOT TO ANSWER FOR.

LC1

 

[Bwian]

THE WEST PIER IS OUR HERITAGE, THE RESTORATION PROGRAMME HAS BEEN EXCELLENT IN HIGHLIGHTING, THAT CIVIC AUTHORITIES HAVE A DUTY TO MAINTAIN AND RESTORE OUR HERITAGE.

THE PROGRAMME HAS ALSO SHOWN THE LARGE NUMBER OF BUILDINGS THAT HAVE FALLEN INTO A POOR STATE, OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS. AS LOCAL AUTHORITIES HAVE HAD THEIR BUDGETS CUT, OTHER PUBLIC AUTHORITIES IN THE SAME POSITION BEING LED BY ACCOUNTANTS WITHOUT A SOCIAL CONCIOUS. LA'S HAVE THE LARGEST NUMBER OF LISTED BUILDINGS IN A POOR STATE OF AFFAIRS AND HAVE RESPONSIBILITY IN CONJUNCTION WITH ENGLISH HERITAGE FOR MAINTAINING LISTED BUILDINGS.

MAGARET THATCHER AND TONY BLAIR YOU HAVE A LOT TO ANSWER FOR.

LC1

Firstly-there's no need to shout!

The West Pier may have BEEN our heritage but it is no more. All that is left is the steel that wouldn't burn.

As for blaming Tony Blair-just what the fcuk has the loss of the pier got to do with him precisely other than it being fashionable to blame him for anything that's happened in the last millenium? I'd say it has much more to do with the Tories running Brighton council for all of those years when fcuk all was done other than pander to the Tory ratepayers who still hold back Brighton to this day. That's what you should be angry about!

It's ridiculous to spend 25 million building a REPLICA of what was.....

 

[NMH]

Pull it down. It's well past time to recognize the fact that it had it's day and now it's over, beyond redemption. Pull it down and put money into something useful that is of THIS era.

Thankyou West Pier for the experiences, spectacles, and memories . I wish you a fond "cheerio" .

 

[Man of Harveys]

Future generations will shake their head with incomprehension if we fail to restore that fine, town culture-defining building.

Also, it's important to bear in mind that many of the fittings on the pier have been removed over the past few years and put in safe - and secret, to stave off Palace Pier gangsters - storage.

It was always going to be more of a rebuild job anyway. The sea levels have risen since it was built in 1866 so the floor level always needed to be built higher anyway, arson from the P*l*c* Pier owners notwithstanding.

Join the West Pier Trust. You'll be proud to burst that you did your bit when it finally reopens. Picture the scene...