Southport Pier – Preliminary Works to Begin
A. E. Yates, contractors of the Southport Pier project, have been remobilised to undertake further technical design and surveying work at the pier, prior to commencement of the full restoration schedule. This latter state depends on the government funding which is still in a state of formal review, but which is looking likely to be finalised and released quite imminently.
Read More
A “National Piers Trust”?
A broadly party-political news item, featuring contributions from MPs Patrick Hurley of Southport and Beccy Cooper of Worthing West. Both are advocating the formation of some sort of trust or society to save and preserve the country’s seaside piers. There is, of course, already a society with these objectives (founded in 1979 under Sir John Betjeman, at a time when some of the finest piers were threatened with demolition….); a society which is given no mention whatever in this item. Their intentions in all of this go further, however, in hoping that this trust could vacuum up all (or at least a large quantity) of the surviving piers and operate them collectively in the manner of the National Trust. Seaside piers have never historically been collectively owned by a single entity in any considerable number (the nearest cases may be the era of Trust Houses Forte, First Leisure, Leisure Parcs, “Six Piers”, etc.). Overall a surprising and peculiar idea, and one which would probably only work viably if some level of cross-communication and cooperation with the NPS is achieved. So far, to the extent of my knowledge, there has been none.
Read More
Worthing Pier – Structural Repairs to Draw from Fire Safety Funding
The headline may seem slightly startling, but Worthing Council have decided previously-planned works to the sprinkler systems in the pier’s South Pavilion should be delayed to release funds for the structural repairs. The pavilion is already fitted with a manually-operated sprinkler system which, as the Council assures, is a satisfactory and sufficient arrangement. The previously-proposed works would have seen the setup replaced with an automatic sprinkler system which could be activated remotely by the fire service, perhaps with the potential in making the businesses within easier to insure or to simplify fire response procedure. Of the £900,000 structural repair budget, £668,000 was drawn from the fire safety system budget.
Read More
Southend Pier – Proposal for New Nighttime Illumination
A planning application has been submitted by Southend City Council for the installation of new festoon lighting along the deck of Southend Pier, affixed to the existing line of light columns. Several new intermediate columns will be erected to provide sufficient structural support for the installation. This proposal is intended to improve the nighttime appearance of the pier and to provide further attraction for visitors during its evening opening hours. The planning application includes a number of working plans of the pier deck, showing the position of the festoon lighting, as well as technical brochures from the lighting providers and written supporting statements. What most people will be drawn to are the 3D visualisations… which are entirely false, A.I. generated and not representative of Southend Pier (see: the train (not of Southend Pier stock) runs hazardously down the length of the pier with no space for pedestrians!). As official planning documentation, the inclusion of these naughty A.I images was perhaps a misjudgement, but the overall principle of the development is certainly to be welcomed.
Read More
Planning Application
Hythe Pier – Hythe Ferry to be Sold
The ongoing discontinuation of the Hythe Ferry shows little sign of ending soon, with the new owners of Red Funnel indicating their intention to sell off the service. Further information is not yet available at this early stage, but with the investment firm owner admitting that they “aren’t best suited” to investing in the service, the situation is perhaps more favourable them holding onto it and taking no action whatever. Whether a suitable buyer can be found is another question. A community-owned and run ferry service could be a fun idea!
Read More
Mumbles Pier – Update on the RNLI Matter
Recent storms have resulted in a brief absense of the moored RNLI lifeboat near to Mumbles Pier. The lifeboat has instead been temporaily moored at Swansea, whilst the mooring at Mumbles is assessed for damage. Once this is completed, the mooring will be reinstated. The pier lifeboat station, however, still remains far from reaching a positive resolution, but the article helpfully reveals that at least some discussions have been ongoing recently.
Read More
Southampton Royal Pier – Restaurant Business Evicted from Premises
Harsh and aggressive change at Southampton: the Pier Tollhouse building has been secured by landlords Red Funnel, with the lease of the premises to the restaurant business “Royal Palace” now terminated and the locks changed. This follows alleged breaches of the lease, which Red Funnel claim have been ongoing for some time and had remained unresolved despite discussions with the leaseholder.
Read More
Worthing Pier Repairs – Preliminary Investigation Works Underway
Worthing Council have provided another update on the pier repair process, referring to a recently completed scheme of structural investigations upon the previously storm-damaged columns and their associated temporary replacements. This investigation work is in preparation for the actual structural repairs which are to commence later this year.
Read More
Southwold Pier – An update on the Pavilion Proposals
The previously-reported planning application at Southwold Pier, with regards to the extension works of the entrance pavilion and the provision of apartments on the first and second floor, is still under determination by South Suffolk Council but a number of comments from statutory consultees have recently been received. Most notable are those from the Conservation Officer and Southwold Town Council. The Conservation Officer had previously reviewed the proposals for Pre-Application Advice and broadly remains supportive of the scheme (except for a requested alteration to the window detailing which, as I highlighted myself last time, presently looks remarkably industrial in character). The Town Council, however, is markedly critical of the form of the extension work and the resultant change in character of the existing building; the number of apartment units proposed; the loss of first-floor community space; the lack of residential parking, etc. They suggest that the proposal may well become acceptable if the number of proposed apartments is reduced and the existing first-floor community facilities (including, apparently, a rare sprung dancefloor). For now, it is not clear which direction the planning determination process will go. Certainly it is one of the more interesting pier development proposals ongoing at the present time (but no match for the Birnbeck regeneration proposals!).
Read More
Roker Pier – 11 Photographs
Not the most exciting gallery, and some of the images from the stock image library have been incorrectly edited, but there are a few photographs of interest. Perhaps most interesting is the photograph of the Lighthouse Keeper operating the foghorn engine. It is funny seeing all this heavy machinery surrounded by floral enamelled wall tiles of decidedly domestic character!
Read More
Weston Birnbeck Pier – Reconstruction of the “Pier Bridge” Commences
Earlier this week witnessed the most important development in the recent history of our seaside pier legacy, with work to reconstruct the iron spans of the Birnbeck pier bridge officially commencing. A 100-tonne crane was delivered to the site on Tuesday, joining a Long-Reach Excavator which has already started removing the superstructure at the shoreward end of the pier bridge. At the time of writing, the pier is now officially disconnected from the shoreward abutments, and as one commenter has thought-provokingly suggested, the structure in question is now officially a “pier” rather than a bridge for the first time its history: a pier solely to Birnbeck Island. This is all extremely exciting news and regular photographic updates are being given on a local Facebook group “Birnbeck Then and Now”. This is a good substitute for the Birnbeck Restoration Trust’s webcam, which is now out of action probably for the long term. Many other up-to-date photographs can be seen also on the Birnbeck Regeneration Trust and Friends of the Old Pier Society pages.
Read More
Birnbeck Then and Now
Lowestoft Claremont Pier – Decorative Illuminations
An encouraging and commendable development at the Claremont Pier, following the reinstatement of part of the seaward decking, has been the recent installation of LED lights along the entirety of the open sections of the pier. This forms a clean line of light, roughly a metre above deck-level, and adds a very real feature of beauty to what was previously a structure with few visually redeeming features. Based on the quotations in the article, it would seem that this lighting is also intended to facilitate the safe opening of the seaward decking during the evenings; which is good to know.
Read More
Brighton Palace Pier – Potential for Arab Ownership
An article by the Arabian Gulf Business Insight, suggesting the potential for a most unusual circumstance coming to pass: that one of the UK’s seaside piers might become foreign-owned. This avenue is evidently being explored with some enthusiasm by the Brighton Pier Group, despite having received various UK-based offers. The reality seems to be that members of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council; comprising such nations as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab emirates) have the funds to invest which UK buyers may well not. It is a very interesting situation, although some gentle concerns may be courted around the ability of foreign investors to appreciate the specialised needs and conservation pressures associated with seaside pier operation, but their ability to yield funding is not to be underestimated. The recently-completed Battersea Power Station redevelopment project comes to mind as an example of the mixed blessings associated with such international involvement. Delivered by a Malaysian consortium, it yielded an exemplary regeneration of the Grade-I listed Power Station, whilst strangling it with a ring of high-rise apartments. In any case, the ongoing sale process at the Palace Pier will be monitored with considerable interest and, with all involved abundantly signalling the cultural and historical significance of it, it is unlikely that it will be at risk of inappropriate treatment.
Read More
Peter Bruff of Clacton-on-Sea
An uncommonly informative and detailed article which sets out the history of Clacton’s conception as a respectable “watering place”. Its emergence came quite late in the history of seaside towns, the land being purchased by Peter Bruff in 1865, but evidently flourished through the careful and purposeful urban planning imposed from the outset. His insistent quotations are quite telling and interesting, that “there must be no slums or objects to offend the eye”, and that “we must stop the present rush of the lowest kind of London trippers – men, women and children who only seem to enjoy themselves when revelling in drink and obscenity”. With such pointed preferences from Clacton’s father, it would perhaps be naughty and inappropriate to conjecture what exclamation he might come up with on seeing his town today, but tempting all the same (with all the respect to the people and businesses of Clacton)!
Read More
Boscombe Pier – Planning Permission Sought for Roof Repair Works
As noted in my November 2025 report of Boscombe Pier, parts of the roof structure of the pier’s entrance building have reached a state of deterioration, and now Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council are planning a comprehensive repair scheme to rectify the defects. The most noticeable damage is to the rendered soffits of the main roof canopy, whilst the lower flat roofs to the shop units are also suffering from pooling and inadequate drainage. The proposals intend to entirely reconstruct the soffit structures of the main roof with a new stainless steel supporting structure, whilst the flat roof surfaces will also be renewed. The associated planning documents include some interesting drawings of moderate historical value: proposed plans and elevations of the previous entrance building’s repair works, dated 2005; and detailed drawings of the main roof structure, dated 1959. This latter drawing shows quite clearly that the roof structure is predominantly of reinforced concrete, widely cantilevering from a central ring of concrete beams. The publicly-visible underside surface is an entirely non-structural soffit suspended on hangers; the render keyed into expanded metal meshes of galvanised steel. Their replacements will be of stainless steel.
Read More
Planning Page
Blackpool Central Pier – An Assurance on Structural Condition
A member of the public recently reported to the Council a broken tie rod at the Central Pier. The Council and Blackpool Pier Company eventually responded, assuring that isolated damages such as this will not endanger the structural integrity of the pier, which are inherently designed with a generous degree of redundancy in their engineering. It must be said that the Central Pier has suffered past issues regarding its structural condition in recent years; the August 2024 incident with a member of the public falling through a maintenance hatch being the most widely-publicised instance. Ongoing maintenance and repairs, however, is seen to continue: During my Febrary 2025 visit, I noted several freshly-installed horizontal bracing members on the widened pier platform. Meanwhile, a startling scene of structural ruination at the pier head (pictured) has thankfully since been rectified by the Blackpool Pier Company’s contractors.
See the second link for an excellent Youtube video taken this Wednesday, touring the substructure of the pier and making apparent its present superficial structural state. Whilst it must be emphasised that the poster of the video could be described as a “layman” as far as structural engineering is concerned, his concerned observations are perhaps representative of a public who are put off on seeing something that does not look right to them. The reality is that everyone today is an “armchair structural engineer” (including myself), and that apperances matter for pier visitors. One hopefully helpful lesson to nervous pessimists is that not all apparent broken ties or rotten piles are necessarily indicative of active structural decay: successive rebuildings and structural replacements often left the old elements in-situ, this being less costly than to remove. Especially in piers like Blackpool Central, much-altered and expanded over time, it is now quite a structural mongrel with old, redundant and structurally inactive elements mixed in amongst the renewed principal structure. I suggest not worrying too much about it; enjoy yourself, you are in Blackpool!
Read More
Youtube Video
Worthing Pier – New Artworks for Pier Deck
Creative Waves, a non-profit community arts company, has been providing artwork for Worthing Pier’s windbreaks for a number of years and this report shows the process for a new work presently underway. This has involved public workshops organised for the purpose of producing graphical material which will eventually be arranged into a single artistic piece on the pier.
Read More
Llandudno Pier – New Year Update from Owner
Adam Williams has given a helpful and encouraging update on pier developments for 2026. The development of the former Pier Pavilion site is being actively explored, with the long-term intention of erecting an amusements and entertainment complex in the long-term and a temporary open-air public space in the meantime. Comprehensive structural repairs over the Winter period have also been publicly highlighted (a commendable approach for transparency on the matter – other piers take note); the cross bracing will be attended to during the next anticipated low-tide event in March. Adam Williams’ leisure companies have also decided to withdraw from Rhyl, where much of the family’s business began. The present doubtful fortunes of the resort town has been cause for this decision, held with much regret by the owner.
Read More
Roker Pier – Preparations for Tour Season
Roker Pier has not enjoyed a full season of tours and events since the storm damage of 2023, but it is looking like the pier will be finally fully operational again for 2026. The tours through the pier tunnels and lighthouse have been greatly popular and highly regarded whenever they are held, and it seems that the Roker Heritage Group have enjoyed many interested individuals for voluntary positions at the pier recently. Tour dates for 2026 have not yet been publicised but are likely to commence in the Spring. (Image: Roker Pier & Lighthouse)
Read More
“Theatre D’armour”, Blackpool – Demolition and Replacement with… Something Else
Immediately to the North of Blackpool’s South Pier is a corrugated steel box, erected here in 2011 as part of the Blackpool Illuminations and intended for use as an open-air theatre venue. This has operated for quite a few seasons, but it has recently been decided for it to be removed and replaced with something else.
This something else has proven to be an “Upside-Down House”, a proposal which is presently being reviewed at planning-level and would ultimately result in the erection of the attraction for a temporary 3-year basis. I fear that this could be a prime case of a “mass-produced attraction”, that is the planting of identical attraction structures in all noteworthy tourist destinations, without any response to the nuanced character of the place (just like the mass-produced self-anointing hot dog statues which seem to proliferate everywhere – including, at one time, at Hastings Pier). These generally identical upside-down houses have already been planted at Brighton, Cardiff, Liverpool, Bristol, and a few other places. Blackpool will be receiving “Upside-Down Building Type 01”, as designed and engineered by Panevėžio Statybos Trestas of Lithuania.
Of course, the purpose of all this is for visitors to obtain novelty pictures of their family and children in unlikely positions around the house, and this will probably result in much family fun being had. I, meanwhile, had some harmless fun picturing the strange far-away facility where these “Upside-Down Houses” are born…
Read More
Planning Page