Ramsey Queen’s Pier – Visible Progress and a Further Donation
Remarkable progress has recently been made on Bay 9, the first “Stiffening Bay”, and a considerable upgrade to the thus-far reopened pier’s ornamental value has been achieved in the reinstallation of this bay’s cast iron seating. This is perhaps the first major feature to indicate visibly the true decorative quality of the pier’s original design, so to me it is very exciting.
The Queen’s Pier Restoration trust has also recently announced that a further £80,000 has been donated by the Alan Chinery Charitable Trust. This is anticipated to fully fund the works to Bays 11 and 12.
If anyone is able to source a replacement carburettor for a V4 Ford Transit engine, I am sure the mechanics at the QRPT will be very pleased. The pier train is firmly out of action until a replacement can be found.
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Worthing Pier – Cost Savings for Repairs
Following the comprehensive inspection of the pier structure and subsequent planning of the permanent structural repairs, it has now been determined that the temporary removal of the pier deck and associated superstructure will no longer be required. The estimated cost of the programme has been revised from £930,000 to £550,000, and it is expected that the work will be completed before the Winter period.
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Llandudno Pier – P.S. Waverley Schedule
It has been highlighted that 2027 will be the 50th anniversary of the Waverley’s first arrival at Llandudno Pier, as well as it being the 150th anniversary of the pier itself. A good photograph is provided from the Waverley’s 1977 visit to the pier. This occasion was organised to celebrate the pier’s corresponding anniversary of the time; the interest provoking the commencement of Waverley sailings in the Thames Estuary and South Coast in the following year.
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Blackpool South Pier – Planning Appeal for “Star Flyer” Proposal
Following the refusal of the planning application to Blackpool Council in 2025, regarding the erection of Star Flyer and Logflume attractions adjacent to the pier, the Blackpool Pier Company have formally submitted an appeal against this decision. The associated documents can be viewed on the Blackpool Council website (2nd link). With nearly 400 individual documents and reports overall, it deserves an extensive period of time to consider fully. So far, I note an interesting set of documents regarding the ongoing structural repair and renewal of the three piers’ structures, including survey diagrams (possibly point-cloud laser scans) of the pier structure. This deserves more consideration next week, since it brings the debate on financial viability and repairability into severely sharp focus.
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Blackpool South Pier – Thoughts on the “Star Flyer” and Appeal Process
Following last week’s introduction to the subject of Blackpool South Pier’s proposal for a Logflume and Star Flyer being considered as a planning appeal, the comprehensive supporting information has revealed some troubling realities. Much of this information, really quite sensitive and originally deemed confidential, was redacted from public view over the course of the planning determination but has been made available now that the planning application’s subsequent refusal was challenged with an appeal. The general impression is that all three of Blackpool’s piers are presently suffering from considerable engineering challenges and, particularly in 2023 and 2024, sufficient maintenance was not financially achievable. The Blackpool Pier Company invested about £1.5 million in maintenance for the three piers in each year, and ran a loss overall. Photographic evidence to support the case has revealed some startling individual cases of structural failures, but as discussed before, such isolated cases are of little consequence in themselves due to the piers’ structural redundancy; something which is acknowledged in the documentation and an aspect of the piers’ structural characteristics which is presently being analysed in considerable detail by their consulting engineers (the basic question to be answered is how much can the pier structures be pared back, with resultant cost savings, before their structural integrity is impacted). Most surprising to me was a set of photographs in an attached presentation document, showing the bases of the columns at North Pier’s head at low tide. A group of the columns, at the point they emerge from the sand, display at a third of the diameter of main column shafts above, possibly showing the actual screw pile sections themselves, exposed following long-term and widely-reported receding sand levels. Those who own Martin Easdown’s 2010 book “Piers of Wales”, turn to page 161 and you will see much the same effect at Rhyl pier. All of this does not necessarily signal a hazardous structural crisis (if it was, then the pier would be ordered to be closed and the beach cordoned off), but certainly indicates that the structural conditions and mode of operation at the piers is rapidly evolving. Compound this with the chaotic structural arrangement of the piers, especially of the South and Central Piers, peppered with structural members of different sizes specifications and dates, some since made redundant but still in-situ, and others in a deteriorated condition, and one is reminded of the notorious case of the catastrophically disorderly building services at the Houses of Parliament. The engineers, however, have modern-day scanning and asset management systems on their side, which has been instrumental in itemising the required works to the piers in recent years.
Of the attraction proposals themselves, Blackpool Council firmly believe them to be inappropriate on the proposed site. The Pier Company, however, insist that they are essential for making the business sustainable and allowing sufficient maintenance of the three piers (a majority for the North Pier) to proceed. The Council have since noted that, with the sale of the North Pier, much of their justifications are no longer valid, also questioning whether it is reasonable for a private business to impose such a considerable townscape impact for the sake of their own sustainability. Of course, the future of Blackpool’s piers hangs on this point, and every possible option should be considered to prevent the list of “Lost Piers” from expanding. Even though the South Pier is locally-listed, I would personally be minded to resign to the fact that, whilst the North Pier is an elegant (if slightly disheveled) lady, the South Pier is a utilitarianised prostitute: worked upon in the most intensive way with money-generating leisure machinery. The damage to the its original late-Victorian elegance has already been done; just one more lattice steel needle in its back will surely not hurt…
For now, that is all the planning/legislative correspondance I can bear to filter through. When a decision is released by the Planning Inspectorate on the appeal, it will be reported here immediately.
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Great Yarmouth Britannia Pier – Beer Garden Proposal
Proposals have been publicised for the development of an external beer garden to the North of the Britannia Pier’s “Pier Tavern”. This will comprise of a raised decking of outdoor seating, with the necessary land level changes providing an under-deck bin storage area for the pier’s commercial operations. This proposal has recently been recommended for approval and will be discussed in a Great Yarmouth Council meeting later this month.
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Southport Pier – Reconstruction Work Begins
Early reports of A E Yates constractors working at the pier have been announced, with some preliminary photographs showing works underway on the existing lighting and shelter structures. Presumably these will be temporarily dismantled and removed to allow the reconstruction of the pier substructure.
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Sheringham Bus Shelter – A note on its Destroyment
The “saving” of the Sheringham Bus Shelter was reported on in December 2025, following many cruel nights of local campaigners being barricaded within and preventing Council contractors from destroying it. It was subsequently declared to be saved. Later, the partnership between Sheringham Town Council and Norfolk County Council produced a proposal for the bus shelter to be cut in half: that is to say, the front portion demolished and the rear wall and projecting roof retained. Like the effect on the bus shelter itself, this proposal cut the local population in half and everyone began warring again. Presently, all that bickering has since materialised as a pathetic waste of time, since Norfolk County Council contractors arrived this week and demolished the entire thing. Apparently it was eventually decided that keeping part of it would be “too costly”. Whatever one’s opinion of it, it has no consequence whatever since the structure is now but mortal dust. Was it really all that special and worthy? I do not know and no longer care. However, I still hold a strong care for its proposed replacement, which could be a fine opportunity for delivering a small public building of distinct quality, harmonious with the adjoining Conservation Area. What is proposed for the “Transport Hub” is not quite that, rather being a predictably lightweight steel structure with a token gesture to its railway surroundings. A shelter of this design has since been delivered at Holt, possibly the same structure originally intended for Sheringham before the controversies began; it is pictured adjacent. It is green, it is modern and supposedly compliant to all necessary accessiblity requirements, but not particularly beautiful nor proportionally assured: would it be right for Sheringham’s town centre and be truly long-lasting? I discovered a magnificent counter to this idea of off-the-shelf street furniture yesterday, in nearby Thornham, near to Hunstanton. Their village bus shelter was built by volunteers in c.2001 with local vernacular materials, designed by none other than Frank Bradbeer, who lived in the village. Frank was a professional architect who, later in life, engaged in aspects of traditional construction and conservation. Earlier in life, however, he was noted for his partnership in the avant-garde organbuilding firm Grant, Degens and Bradbeer, erecting marvellously Brutalist organs in places like New College Oxford. This shelter was his final architectural design. A little diversion, perhaps, but certainly this is how a bus shelter for a Norfolk village should be done. Easily-defacable polycarbonate panels and painted steel is not always the answer!
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Blackpool North Pier – Amusement Rides Installed and Events Programming
A notable early sign of investment has, without warning, appeared at the North Pier over the last week. This has materialised in the form of a number of outdoor amusement rides, disposed across the North side of the deck, beyond the second pair of kiosks and as far as the Theatre. The “bullnose” pier end is cordoned off for a trampoline attraction. This development has proved to be somewhat controversial, since it has been felt by some to be the first step towards the pier being transformed into the realms the South or Central Pier. It is, however, worth approaching the situation in a balanced manner, and with the new owners the pier’s operational situation has indeed changed. Where previously the three Blackpool piers were owned together and the intensively-commercialised South and Central Piers effectively paid for the upkeep of the North Pier, without its historic integrity being compromised, the North Pier now has to fund itself. Obviously this new development is intended as a means of increasing the operational income of the pier, although some have questioned whether the North Pier is suitable to take this same treatment as at the South or Central Pier; it being Grade-II listed and within a Conservation Area; and whether it is naturally chosen as a destination by young families at all. The North Pier has always been said to be the elegant, peaceful pier of Blackpool’s three, but elegance and peace do not normally pay for the pier’s upkeep unless visitors are made to pay admission to enjoy the same. No planning permission or listed building consent has been sought for this work (the short-lived helter-skelter and bouncy castle slide had no permissions either); perhaps it is held that the completed rides do not constitute built development and are instead mere accessories incidental to the the ongoing operational use of the pier (as is being argued in favour of the South Pier’s present “Star Flyer” developments). Is planning permission needed for rides and attractions of this nature? The recently-reported planning application for a trampoline beside Southwold Pier would suggest yes; whilst the aforementioned precedent at the North Pier would suggest not. Definitions of planning requirements can be fickle in these strange “sui generis” pier environments, and indeed the North Pier was made to apply for full planning permission to permit the use of the Merrie England Bar for the sale of racing pigeons over three days in January 1994. The Pier Entertainment Centre at Hunstanton, meanwhile, became embroiled in a planning battle during 2013 on the matter of the affixment of a moulded plastic ice cream cone! Regardless of whether or not planning permission would be required, these rides will inevitably impact the atmosphere and appearance of the listed pier to a certain extent. In the attached video coverage, it can be seen that the rides’ positioning towards the end of the pier acts to minimise their intrusion in the key views; their outline generally being obscured by the theatre, carousel enclosure and Bloom Lounge behind them. Similarly, it can be seen they do not appear to become visually prominent from the pier itself until approached at relatively close range, so the developments are perhaps not as visually intrusive as it might have otherwise been. Still, the bright blue fabric surfacing under the rides is visually offensive and has the potential to accelerate moisture-related deterioration of the decking beneath. A repeated concern in comments is the pier deck’s structural state for supporting the rides. Having reviewed my February 2025 record photographs of this part of the pier, I can confirm that the state of the decking in this particular area is quite good and has been subject to renewal in recent years (see header image). Suffice to say, I personally have mixed feelings on this development, but it is important to remind oneself that the financial viability of the pier is a highly important factor to consider.
In other matters, events programming seems to be developing in all parts of the pier. Advertisement images on the pier’s Facebook page, entirely of A.I. extraction, indicate a small variety of shows in the Joe Longthorne Theatre… so far, Roy “Chubby” Brown and Katie Hopkins. Also, regular showings of a DJ in the Bloom Bar, an accordianist in the Lounge Bar, and perhaps of most interest to those subscribed to the pier’s heritage, daily organ performances (Alistair Butterfield) in “The Conservatory”. Following the pier’s Facebook page is currently the most useful way to keep updated with ongoing events. A glossy-looking website has been prepared, but so far it has not been fully populated. There is, however, a page on the pier’s history, very much of outline detail. Also, a gallery of historic pictures of the pier in the 19th and early 20th centuries… entirely fictional A.I fabrications of a North Pier that never existed. Wow! I cannot hold back on that point; those images are unforgivable.
For all that, I will eagerly and enthusiastically follow how the pier develops over the Summer: Good luck to the new owners!
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Pier Facebook Page
Pier Website
Clacton Pier – Nominee for UK Theme Park Awards
Clacton Pier is one of twelve nominees in the Seaside Park of the Year vote, along with Brighton Palace Pier, Margate’s Dreamland, and in Great Yarmouth, both Joyland and the Pleasure Beach. And just to confuse things, the Pleasure Beach in Blackpool, and the Pleasure Beach in Skegness. Anyway, public votes are presently being accepted until the 28th August.
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Brighton West Pier – Low Tide Views
A self-explanatory title; several recent photographs of the remains of Brighton West Pier at very low tide, both taken at ground-level and in aerial view. The photographs are notable for revealing the scale and, in part, the detail of the pier head’s landing stage.
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Weston-Super-Mare Birnbeck Pier – The Flags Are Risen
In a further update on the pier’s restoration progress, North Somerset Council have revealed that the proposed flagpole and roof detailing on the Toll House is now complete. A flagpole now sits within the reproduction metal roof cresting, both being based on the original 19th Century designs, and topped with the internationally-recognised maritime signal flags, spelling the letters B P. A refreshing change to see a gleaming heritage asset marked with small, traditional and historically-appropriate flags as opposed to the noisily-colourful logo-type flags often seen today. It turned out to be an unfortunate time for this positive development to take place, with Weston presently amid petty controversies associated with unauthorised Union Jack flags coming, going and coming again to the seafront (I will not be entering this tedious debate myself!) Therefore, comments on this update were charged with the usual flag-related rhetoric and eventually had to be disabled on the Council’s post.
Elsewhere on the pier site, progress remains vigorous; videos captured on Thursday 30th June showed the second new span (span no.15) being craned into position.
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Bangor Garth Pier – The Pavilion Cafe is Card Only
It has been reported that the Pavilion Cafe, on the head of Bangor Pier, has recently suffered a number of break-ins and targetings on account of cash being kept temporarily the premises. This has so far occured thrice; an intolerable situation, and has caused staff so much worry that removing the cash upon the daily closure of the premises is out of the question for the risk of being physically targeted as they return from the pier with it. These incidents incidentally raise questions on the ability of the pier entrance gates to impede the inrush of these burdensome and awful criminals to the pier for their economic parasitizing when the pier is closed (assuming that this activity takes place out of opening hours). Perhaps we will have to see a return of the hideous barbed wire, stapled onto scraps of steel racking clamped onto the gates, which disfigured the gates for a period until about 15 years ago.
Anyway, the present situation has forced the Pavilion Cafe to withdraw from the whole cash thing entirely; now maintaining a “Card Only” policy. Given the circumstances, this is a perfectly reasonable decision and instantly produces a solution to their trouble. Regardless, social media has burst into its usual animal state of uproarious raucousness, with phrases of “Boycott” and “Cash is King” being sent as verbal volleys here and there. Yes, for a business to allow and accept cash payment is undoubtedly a good thing, but the safety and security of the business and its staff is infinitely more important. It is notable that one Facebook comment to The Pavilion’s post by Tafarn y Garth (the pub and restaurant opposite the pier), indicating that visitors can use cash at the pub to purchase vouchers for use in the cafe, has received no response or reaction whatever (some response on its own page’s post; more arguing too!). But there it is, there is the solution to the Card Only situation, and if you are still not happy, go away to Rhyl and keep quiet!
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Southend Pier – A Congregation of Kate Bushes
This perplexed me quite roundly, but here it is: an organised assemblage of Kate Bush impersonators, enthusiastically gesticulating on the pier so as to recreate Bush’s music video for “Wuthering Heights”. This event, internationally-upheld as it happens, seems to have become quite a major cultural tradition, although entirely new to me. The probable chorus of a thousand extremely high-pitched singing voices, emanating distantly from the pier, is an amusing thought; a perfectly crazy idea for a similarly crazy world. Good for them!
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Brighton Palace Pier – End of the Pier Show
There is excellent news at Brighton Palace Pier, with the End of the Pier Show to return for the 2026 season. This tradition was only established at the pier last year, and was most enthusiastically consumed by those who happened to be in Brighton at that time. The 2026 season will span from the 10th August until the 28th, with two shows each day Monday to Friday, and all accounts I have seen suggest that it finds an ideal balance between the distinctive seaside traditions and the unforced implementation new innovations – just how an End of the Pier should be! These shows are to be held, as last year, in Horatio’s Bar. If it really takes off in future years, I would certainly be in support of a purpose-built Pier Theatre being erected on the site of the old “Triodome” amusement dome.
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