Clevedon Pier – Trust Acquires Clevedon Market Hall
The trustees of the Clevedon Pier & Heritage Trust have completed the purchase of the town’s architecturally remarkable Market Hall, which will serve as the pier’s heritage centre and provide additional accommodation for scheduled events and functions. This follows the sale of the Trust’s other property, Waterloo House on the seafront, which previously acted as its heritage centre and archive. It is assumed that the new property will also contain the trust’s archive, and proposals to initiate the necessary alteration works to deliver the desired facilities will be announced in the future. Certainly it is excellent news that Clevedon’s two heritage landmarks are now owned and managed by a trust who undoubtedly has the skill and sympathetic approach needed in celebrating such things.
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Bournemouth Pier – Gushing from a “Group Heritage Writer”
A new article from Bournemouth Echo, spewing forth some frothy gushings on Bournemouth Pier’s heritage and romantic rhetoric on its present-day experience. Something seems off about it. Those in the comments, along with tiresome opinions about “what the town has become”, make some interesting and quite possibly accurate accusations that the entire article might be A.I-generated. Who ever heard of “arcade bells tinkling in the salty air”? The uncaptioned photograph gallery is moderately interesting.
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Clacton Pier – 155th Birthday
Coverage of the pier’s 155th birthday celebrations, including the awarding of day wristbands for the price of £1.55 to 155 random visitors, in addition to much cake being had, fireworks being set off and Clacton’s premier historian, Norman Jacobs, delivering pier talks from the Boardwalk Bar. A series of new information boards on the pier’s various historical phases have also been launched, giving a good lasting outcome from the celebrations which will undoubtedly benefit future visitors. The major cake pictured in the article appeared highly impressive, although it is not quite clear who was permitted to eat it: visitors, meanwhile, were given free cakes of the “corporate cupcake” variety, a mainstay of networking events and trade fairs, complete with edible icing logos. A commendable gesture all the same, needless to say, and planning is already underway for the 160th birthday celebrations.
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The Guardian’s 10 Best Piers
Little to say here, except for an imploration to follow the link and read the feature for yourself. The “results” are organised into ten categories, which perhaps makes it more useful to those with particular tastes. This type of pier feature is conjured by national newspapers from time to time, and this one is guilty with most of the others in not attributing the National Piers Society with the so-called “coveted” Pier of the Year Award. Never mind, at least the award is so-called “coveted”.
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Southwold Pier – Pavilion Developments Approved by Planning Committee
The Planning Committee of East Suffolk Council discussed the planning proposals for the extension and development of Southwold Pier Pavilion on Tuesday 11th August. The proposal for a second-floor extension; widespread exterior remodelling; conversion of the first floor and population of the new second floor with holiday flats; alterations to the existing amusement arcade and removal of the existing parking spaces in favour of an improved public realm, were recommended for approval in the committee report prior to the meeting. The rather harsh criticisms of the proposals by Southwold Town Council, dated the 19th January, were only lightly referred to and it was generally agreed that the proposals would have a broadly positive impact on the pier and surroundings. It was reassured that the removal of the car parking spaces, including a number of disabled-access spaces, was deemed acceptable by the parking services department and that the sale of the associated highways land to the pier had been agreed in principle – on the condition that the land be used to improve the public realm. Parking for the pier facilities and holiday homes will rely on the public car parking area to the North, it being acknowledged that, on analysis, the existing facilities were deemed sufficient to accommodate the additional demand. No concerns were raised on the visual effects of the proposal, with the existing arrangement being noted several times to be “run-down” and somewhat uninviting. The recommendations from the Senior Design and Heritage Manager of East Suffolk Council, given on the 17th December 2025, appear not to have been actioned: this was for the redesign of the window design to reinstate slightly more horizontal emphasis. As it is, the dense square glazing grids to the voluminous proposed windows suggest a mid 20C industrial character reminiscent of, say, Littlebrook A, B and C Power Stations. In any case, the proposals are broadly appropriate to the pier site and the counsillors voted on this basis. Also heard at the committee meeting was Mr. John Bennett RIBA, architect, who indicated that the former theatre on the first floor of the pavilion had not been in use for at least 20 years and had since been languishing under the use of a general store. Extended anecdotes were then raised, recalling the past uses of the first floor space. The reinstatement of vigorous and purposeful functions to all parts of the pier is a welcome objective, and it will finally be seen again once this proposal is implemented. Mr. Bennett’s vigorous “edifice” (his term) will serve this objective nicely.
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Planning Committee Entry
Video recording (starts at 2:16:30)
Brighton Palace Pier – Two Pier Show Reviews and a Fire
Two critic reviews have recently appeared on the recently-launched Pier Show season at Brighton Palace Pier, being held in Horatio’s Bar. The general impression from the reviews will not be copied out here, but one need not worry as to the tone of them! A particularly noteworthy observation was that the general premise of the shows seemed to be a time-travelling escapade to 1901, when the pier originally opened (well, more or less…) and then the pier’s history was followed to the present day, much plumpified with music hall-type jollifications and sideshows to make it universally entertaining. An extremely commendable idea!
At the other extreme of the commendability spectrum, a fire was reported to be building underneath the decking near to the amusements entrance. Whilst this was almost immediately put out, the incident was concluded to have almost certainly been provoked by the dropping of a lit cigarette. Smoking is, needless to say, strictly banned on the pier except in two specific zones, and in the present heatwave conditions where the world appears to be rapidly combusting from such provoctions as this, “careless actions of a customer” is not the term to use: rather, the “suicidally negligent misdemeanors of a morally-derelict and intellectually-vacuous humanoid entity” (then again, I am not a professional P.R officer!). So far, other piers in the country have not been impacted by the severe fire risk provoked by the heatwave, but all visitors and pier staff would do well to apply special diligence in preventing further incidents for as long as the weather conditions are so hazardously dry.
Review 1
Review 2
Fire
Southsea Parade Pier – Commercial Impact from Coastal Defence Works
A number of businesses on the South Parade Pier have raised grave concerns on their future economic viability, for as long as the effects of coastal defence works on footfall continue. These critically-important works, well underway at the time of the NPS Southsea AGM in 2022, are still underway and the inevitable diversions and closures are markedly impacting visitor footfall to the pier. Debates and threats of legal action are presently ongoing with regards to whether Portsmouth City Council should be obliged to provide compensation for the disruption to businesses.
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21 August 2026 – Our Weekly Newsletter editor is not happy!
OH dear – This week’s newsletter has come out rather heavy and solemn in tone, simply based on the items of news which have happened to emerge within this week’s timeframe. Nothing disastrous, needless to say, but not much to “raise a smile”, so to speak. The recently-passed heatwave indirectly provoked much public frustration on seeing the epidemic of fires being deliberately started during its climax, including on our piers; this raising my own tempers on “What are people doing? Why are we self-destructing?”. Great Yarmouth Britannia subsequently encountered a perfect repetition of the display of negligence seen at Brighton Palace Pier last week; that is to say, a fire started by a discarded cigarette. Elsewhere, anti-social behaviour during Cromer Pier’s free “Sunset Sessions” resulted in some events being cancelled and stricter entry rules being enforced for the future. These were and still are excluded from the newsletter itself since it would constitute far too much anger for one week! Notwithstanding this, Tynemouth, below, brings about another hammer-blow for the coveted notion of “sweetness and light”.
Hopefully that will be all the frustrating news items finished with for some time, and I promise that next week’s newsletter will be the embodiment of “sweetness and light”. If that week’s news does not compliment my efforts, I will endeavour to invent an embodiment of it instead. For now, there is ONE very encouraging item of news in the penultimate position of this very newsletter. Get over to it now and take pleasure!
Blackpool South Pier – Planning Appeal for Star Flyer and Logflume Rides Dismissed
The appeal hearing, initiated as a response to Blackpool Council’s refusal of planning permission for the erection of the previously-reported Star Flyer and Logflume rides on the foreshore adjacent to the South Pier, has concluded with the Blackpool Pier Company’s appeals being DISMISSED by the planning inspector. It was first concluded that, despite the Pier Company’s insistence, that the works amounted to more than “operational development” and ought to be viewed as building work which would be classified as “development” under the Town and Planning Act. Therefore, the various effects on the area were to be judged as though the developments were permanent and substantial buildings or structures. Secondly, with this in mind, the Star Flyer in particular was judged to be of wholly excessive and intrusive scale, damaging to the setting of the Pier (a non-designated heritage asset) and also to the various views of the Blackpool Tower. Thirdly, the development was judged to conflict with the Blackpool Development Plan’s policy that development West of the tramlines (excepting on the piers themselves) would be resisted. Against this, the benefits the rides would have on funding ongoing structural maintenance of the South and Central Piers was considered to carry considerable weight; weight was also given to the Pier Company’s suggestion that Blackpool City Council’s assertion that the Star Flyer would harm the setting of the Blackpool Tower was inconsistent with their own self-approved developments (for a similar Star Flyer attraction, immediately adjacent to the Blackpool Tower!). Of this interesting and controversial point, the inspector had this to say: “ I have great difficulty in reconciling the Council’s approach to the effect on the Starflyer ride on the setting of the various heritage assets at Christmas by the Sea with the approach taken to the appeal proposals. In particular, I fail to understand how the Council can maintain an objection/reason for refusal on the effect of the proposed Starflyer ride at South Pier on the setting of Blackpool Tower at a distance of some 1.3 kilometres but found no harm with a Starflyer ride practically next to it. No convincing explanation has been provided for that discrepancy in approach.”
The above, however, was a comparatively minor point and the inspector overall agreed with the Council’s conclusion that the proposals were inappropriate and contrary to local planning policy. Both connected appeals were therefore dismissed, and there will be NO Star Flyer and NO Logflume on the South Pier site. The ongoing and highly critical discourse on the Pier Company’s structural maintenance funding remains, of course, presently unresolved.
The Appeal Inspector report is available at the top of the Documents list on the linked planning page – carefully reading it is highly recommended for those who are interested enough to have reached the bottom of this item without falling a’slumber.
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Planning Page
Bournemouth Pier – Still No Success in Repair Tender Process
It has been over 3 years since Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council were originally granted Levelling-Up government funding, of which over £9 million was designated for repairs to the pier, yet the Council has so far not seen success in securing a contractor to complete the works. It has been said that this absence of suitable bids is due to the scale and costs of the project; the Council maintaining that “[the unsuccessful tender] has provided valuable insight into the scale and cost of the work required”. This does not clarify what the likelihood is that a contractor will soon be found, but it is still suggested that the removal of the hazardous timber landing stages will begin in the Autumn. In view of significant cost rises, inevitable with the considerable delays, a “revised approach” to the repair scheme is presently being developed. For now, the situation remains quite uncertain.
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Tynemouth North Pier – A Conservation Award and a Contemptible Atrocity
The work to restore Tynemouth’s North and South Piers and reinstate public access has been placed in the Institute of Civic Engineers’ 2026 Awards, winning the “Medium Project Award” category. This involved a cooperation between the Port of Tyne (owners), Southbay Civil Engineering (contractors), Total Project Integration (project management), Purcell (conservation architects) and Classic Masonry (stonework repairs/renewal).
Those are the agents of construction, renewal and conservation, and their work is to be warmly welcomed and congratulated. Working against them, just days after the piers’ reopening, are the agents of destruction, regression and degeneration, who have thoroughly acted upon the North Pier and destroyed the glazed floor panels which encircle the lighthouse. These panels are probably original to the lighthouse, requiring specialised and expensive work to repair. As such, the pier has again been indefinitely closed to the public. The cycle therefore continues, with agents of construction forced to work against agents of destruction, at great expense, and with black waves of hatred and despair emanating as a by-product from social media comments. Most of us are, or can be, agents of construction and renewal: take responsibility for your local area; report vandalism and fly-tipping immediately; make full, bold, blatant use of public spaces and amenities; all to “take ownership” of our public realm from the aforementioned villains who deserve none of it whatever. Is this enough? I cannot say.
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Fleetwood People’s Pier – Draft Proposals Released
Yes, what has been released is an A.I-generated picture, but this regardless represents at least a strong first expression of intent for the Fleetwood People’s Pier CIC. The proposed development, which will certainly need to be affordable in terms of project cost (which new-build piers are certainly not!), appears to be quite easily-deliverable; relying much on repurposed shipping containers for the structural fabric and probably very limited marine works being necessary. Proposed is effectively a public-access courtyard for Fleetwood-centric events, surrounded by restaurants, small commercial spaces and holiday apartments, all based on the former site of Fleetwood Pier’s entrance buildings. To prevent any runaway delusions on what the project will entail, this will NOT be a reconstructed pier of comparable scale to the former structure, but rather a foreshore development with possibly a slight projection into the beach margins, from what I can tell. Regardless of this, it is still worthy of the fullest support; especially once the scheme is eventually fully-resolved with architectural input, viability assessments, access strategies, land ownership agreements, etc…
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Blackpool North Pier – A Council Heritage Consultation
An item which has emerged just as this newsletter was being finalised on Friday morning.
Blackpool North Pier has publicised an ongoing public consultation by Blackpool Council, which seeks public opinions on the future direction of the region’s heritage strategy. Apparently there will be opportunity to raise personal thoughts on what is felt to be a desirable future development for the pier itself, whether it be a reconstructed jetty, or refurbishments to the theatre, etc. The link gives access to the online consultation form itself. A helpful introduction to the process, in the context of how it might affect the pier, has been given on Blackpool North Pier’s Facebook page. The consultation closes next Wednesday.
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