Southport Pier – Fire Damage
Southport Pier was struck by fire on Sunday night, although gladly the severity of the damage appears to be minor. Sefton Council and the Fire Service were able to promptly assure that the cause was most likely due to an electrical fault, and not due to arson or vandalism. The fire took place underneath the decking, beside one of the cafe kiosks midway along the pier. Sefton Council have assured that they will still be pressing with the Governent funding application as before, with the fire damage being taken into account in preparing the restoration schedule.
Read More 1
Read More 2
Weston Birnbeck Pier – Restoration Project Likely to be Cancelled
North Somerset Council have published a report which will be considered in a council meeting on Tuesday. The report reflects on the RNLI’s devastating withdrawal from the project and concludes that there are no viable options remaining aside from an abandoning of the project. The conclusions of the report are to be voted upon at the meeting, so until that time the project’s fate is not formally sealed and there is a slim potential of additional funding being secured. Ultimately the council have so far been unable to fill the £5.5 million funding gap resultant of the RNLI’s withdrawal, and consistent with their long-maintained strategy, have not drawn from tax-payer’s funding.
The landside works, previously funded, approved at planning-level and preliminary work commenced, are still set to proceed. The work will still be of some meaningful use, and as the report highlights most depressingly, “will reduce the sense of decline and dereliction at the landside site”.
Whilst most national news outlets have already resigned to reporting along the lines of “AXED”, “SCRAPPED”, “SHELVED”, these are technically just proposals in a report and we should wait until the motions have been approved on Tuesday before lamenting. If this comes to pass, then Tuesday will be a grey day indeed. And mark my words: next week’s newsletter will be extraordinarily grey.
Read More 1
Read More 2
Council Report
Southport Pier – A Vehicle Collision
A HGV collided with the pier last Friday, meeting the pier at the bridge structure over Marine Drive. That is all; the pier suffered no damage whatever… it was only newsworthy in view of taking place so soon after the minor fire. Not quite the string of calamities that news outlets might wish to portray, Sefton Council are still occupied in preparing a bid for the aforementioned government funding. Hopefully the 2027 opening target will hold.
Read More
Llandudno Pier – Statement from Thankful Pier Management
As the Summer season comes to an end, Paul Williams, general manager, provided an appreciative statement following the success of the pier’s regular programme of live music and ongoing support from visitors. 2025 has certainly been a turbulent year for the pier, but to-date it has concluded with much positivity and success – not withstanding the Pier of the Year award!
Read More
Blackpool South Pier – Ride Proposals Refused
Planning Application reference 25/0269, previously reported in this newsletter, has been refused by Blackpool Council.These proposals refered to a “star flyer” ride tower and a log flume being erected on the land surrounding the pier entrance; the log flume previously being granted planning permission on a temporary basis many years ago. Applications to retain it permanently have since ended in rejection, on aesthetic grounds. The Blackpool Pier Company have clearly been intent on having these rides for many years, but the council is having none of it: they maintain that the rides will actively harm the architectural setting of the pier and its associated buildings. Normally I would agree, but around the South Pier rides have dominated for quite some time and there is very little good permanent architecture to speak of. If Blackpool Council really wish for the vision of “well-designed development that conserves or enhances the character and appearance of the area” around the South Shore, then they will be very busy: Get the “bulldozers” out from Bonny Street and clear up all these unsightly rides! In reality, a compromise needs reaching since the rides are now part of the area’s heritage. In the meantime, the land to the immediate North and South of the pier remains mostly empty and in need of appropriate development. Perhaps a parade of seafront bars and cafes; something which makes the most of the immediate beach setting?
Read More
Bournemouth Pier – Update on Proposed Repair Works
BCP Council have confirmed that the £20 million funding they have secured from the Government’s Levelling-up Fund, of which about half will be used for the pier, is still available to use. This is after some delays to commence repair works to the pier structure, during the course of securing tenders. This process is to remain ongoing until the end of the month, prior to work commencing.
Read More
Pier Miscellaneum: of Swans and Lights
At Worthing, a Black Swan came to the pier and caused a sensation upon onlookers. Black Swans are scarcely sighted in this country.
The light fittings of Sandown retreat in horror and cower for protection: Terence is in town! This man came into Sandown and through drink-provoked vandalism, claimed one of the lights of Sandown Pier. This “Terence the Terrible”, “Perkins the Predictable Perpetrator”, brought ruin upon this innocent luminaire tasked with lighting the pier curtilage for the comfort of visitors. The Royal Society for the Protection of Architectural Fittings appealed to the local police for Terence to publicly apologise to all Sandown lights damaged under his hand. The Solent and Wight division of Save Our Security Lights, however, were more incandescent; insisting that he be placed before a 2,000W halogen floodlight and made to recite the full published history of the Centennial Light.
The Black Swan
The Sandown Pier Light Vandalism
Weston Birnbeck Pier – Restoration Project NOT to be Cancelled; Funding is Secured
I said last week to wait until the council meeting on Tuesday before frothing with lamentation, and now look! A miraculous circumstance has turned the entire situation about!
Last week, the Council had prepared a report recommending the closure of the pier restoration project, owing to a £5.5 million funding gap, and this was to have been approved at the meeting on Tuesday 16th September. Then, a funding bid for the £5.5 million shortfall had been approved by the National Lottery Heritage Fund; this taking place almost immediately prior to the meeting. The announcement caused considerable surprise within the council and necessitated the report under consideration being replaced (available to view in the bottom link). Needless to say, the funding offer was voted and the previously agreed timescales reinstated. With the funding secured, the contract for the restoration has also been awarded (details in the report). Overall, a magnificent recovery of the situation. North Somerset Council did promise to explore options until the moments before the terminal meeting, and whilst it seemed at the time that there was little chance of a solution being found, they delivered their promise and now the project is once again ricocheting towards completion: restoration of the pier structure to commence later this year!
Read More
Meeting (live recording)
Amended Council Report
Southport Pier – Oktoberfest on the Pier Stub
The limited stretch of Southport Pier which remains open to the public (as far as the start of the Marine Lake crossing) is to be filled with that clamourous German drinking occasion on Saturday; the first time it has come to the pier. It is being organised by the Southport Hesketh Round Table and supported by the Silcock Leisure Group from the amusements beside the pier. It ought to be an encouraging example of outdoor programming which could take place at the to-be-restored pier in future years, and is probably going to generate considerable interest. Pre-booked tickets are available, but in theory it should be possible to walk in on the day.
Read More
St. Anne’s Pier – The 1982 Fire (But…)
An article presumably about the second of the pier’s major 20th Century conflagrations, but it is a paywall article, so that is that. Feel free to read my report via the second link below on St. Anne’s Pier from May, which includes some information on this fire and the reconstruction which followed (scroll down to the red part!).
Read More
Newsletter 23/05/2025
Southend Pier – Electric Trains Still Out of Action; And Another Poppy Update
The following article confirms the unfortunate situation of the pier still without its new electric trains. They were effectively disabled during the collision of October 2024 and, strangely enough, the railway safety investigation is still ongoing after all this time. The old diesel locomotives continue to run as a “temporary” replacement: will they still be running in this guise when they reach their 40th birthday next year? The leader of Southend Council’s Conservative group insisted that the new trains “are much more comfortable, much nicer and offer a better service”. Heh! That may well be, but it accounts for very little when they have been out of action for nearly a year and their predecessors have to come out of retirement to keep the pier railway running.
Pier management have had a better grip on other matters, however, and so far the Poppies on the Pier project continues to build up stock for the remembrance display. Now there are over 70,000 donated poppies, nearly triple the original target. Numerous venues will be open for voluntary “sewing sessions”, where these poppies will be joined together in preparation for their installation.
Trains
Poppies
Yarmouth Pier (Isle of Wight) – Nao Victoria Ship to Land (or perhaps not)
Yarmouth Pier was advertised to be a landing place for the Nao Victoria replica ship, which has previously landed at Southend Pier in previous years. This was supposed to take place between the 23-28th September, but it seems to have been diverted to Cowes instead. So no Nao at the pier. It will continue to Weymouth during early October.
Read More
Southwold Pier (and Eastbourne and Clacton) – The Waverley to Land (or perhaps not)
The Waverley paddle steamer was scheduled to land at Southwold Pier on Thursday, as part of its journey to London. And then Not! Unsuitable weather led to the journey being truncated to Ipswich (with a replacement bus service from Southwold to Ipswich). The previous day was problematic as well, with the voyage from Eastbourne Pier to London being prematurely terminated at Gravesend; again due to weather conditions.
The final link leads to a rather long and tedious video of the Waverley preparing to land at Clacton Pier on Wednesday, and then not. The windy weather, again.
Read More (To Land)
Read More (Not)
Read More (Eastbourne to London (Not))
The Waverley Landing at Clacton (Not)
Bournemouth Pier – A Political Interview on the Zipwire
The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey, was interviewed by BBC 5 Live on Monday, with the two parties taking the journey to the beach on the zipwire. It was resultantly a very short interview and the chaotic physical sensations associated with the attraction precluded the arguments being particularly eloquent. A rather stupid idea, really, but it incidentally gives an excellent impression of the “PierZip” attraction which is of course very unique on a seaside pier.
Read More
Clacton Pier – Oktoberfest Weekends and Economics of Amusements
Clacton Pier’s event managers have been generous enough to offer three consecutive weekends of “Oktoberfest” programming, further expanding the pier’s already impressive selection of under-cover functions. The first was last weekend, and the photographs are from that. Further opportunities for intoxication within a pastiche-German setting will be given on 27-28th September and 4-5th October. (Image: Clacton Pier)
Clacton Pier have also supported a research study on the economics of amusement arcades, which highlights their importance to the British tourism industry. This follows a number of additional economic pressures which have been imposed upon Clacton Pier and others in recent years.
Read More
Read More (Amusement Economics)
Hastings Pier – A Talk on its Entertainment History
A local historian and researcher, Andre Palfrey-Martin will deliver a talk on Hastings Pier’s past entertainments, from those offered from its opening in 1872 to those held in the years prior to the 2010 fire. It will also probably include accounts of its post-2016 history. The talk will be given in Hastings Museum and Art Gallery on Wednesday 15th October.
Read More
Southport Pier – Government Funding Announced
Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, visited Southport last Saturday and caused widespread rejoicing with her announcement of up to £20 million funding towards the pier restoration project, drawn from the Government’s “Growth Mission Fund”. The exact amount will be agreed once the business case of the project has been assessed in detail, but the figure provided seems very generous considering the preliminary costings of £13-15 million given over previous years. If necessary, this additional funding may be fruitfully applied towards building upon the superstructure attractions on the pier, enhancing its financial viability and resiliance further. In any case, this is extremely encouraging news and assurances that restoration work will commence next year seem feasible. The pier is certainly Southport’s most worthy attraction and now any fears that it might be lost should be hopefully banished for at least another generation. Now the revived visions of the vintage amusements enclosed in a building blindingly modern; of land trains silently snaking along the deck; of visitors peramulating loftily along the boards in the sky, are rapidly emerging again.
It was 12 years ago when I had these visions for myself, when even the electric tram was still running. A visit since then, in 2017, was less fond; the infamous maintenance issues were manifesting in the closure of the pier head for repairs, and the glazing in the shelters was smashed. Regardless, the pier is now hurrying towards a more vivid existance as the centre of Southport’s leisure offerings.
Read More (Stand up for Southport))
Read More BBC
Brighton West Pier – Its Past and Present
It is inferred from this Telegraph article that the West Pier’s final public visitor exited the pier 50 years ago. Since then, the West Pier remained, to most, as a distant and elusive picture of intoxicating grandeur. Most people who now know of it would never have walked upon it themselves. Physically inaccessible but sited in such a way that it could be gazed upon in detail, this likely created a distinct phenomenon of giving a contracted sense of scale; an effect made even more profound during the pier’s 21st Century “skeleton state”, where the pavilion holding 1000 people now appears little larger than a birdcage. From 1975 to the present day, the pier highlighted four stages of humanity in Brighton: firstly, the pessimistic implementation of “managed decline” during the 1970s; the industrious adoption of “restoration” proposals, in line with increasing international interest in architectural conservation; the evils of humanity and the competitive corporate world, encapsulated in the effective destroyment of the pier in 2003: a blatant and unforgivable heritage crime; and most recently, the enthusiastic yet level-headed approach towards making the best of what we have left. With this comes the reality that the West Pier will probably never return, nor will the ruins ever be demolished. The ruins still act as the basis for the West Pier Trust and are of course a source of considerable inspiration to the artists and historians associated with it.
Read More
Weston Birnbeck Pier – Update on Works
North Somerset Council have issued a further update on the restoration project, and much of the preliminary landside infrastructure work is now complete. This includes the provision of welfare facilities and the relocation of the Birnbeck Regeneration Trust’s Information Hub. This coincides with the temporary closure of the Birnbeck Pier car park, to facilitate the site works. Recently there have been formal site visits by Historic England, North Somerset Council’s Principal Conservation Officer and several specialised restoration and marine engineering companies.
Read More
Hastings Pier – Miscellaneous Bits
A few new Facebook photos which continue to depict Hastings Pier in, at best, a plateued state.
Firstly, the deck of the central pavilion has now been barricaded and the building itself appears to be presently disused. The pier head is still littered with graffiti-covered shipping containers and event paraphanalia from the “Piertown” phase; this being visible on the live webcam which continues to run.
There were also photographs posted by the Hastings and Rye MP, taken during a meeting with the Friends of Hastings Pier (including NPS committee member Peter Wheeler; Pier Engineer during the previous ownership). This has also been posted on the “Friends of Hastings Pier” Facebook page, but there has been little visible interaction since commenting has been disabled. The purpose of all this was to highlight to the MP the maintenance issues which have been affecting the pier for many years, especially since the departure of the dedicated maintenance team headed by Peter. Whether this meeting will have any material impact on Gulzar’s attentiveness on the maintenance of the pier remains to be seen, but without doubt, all prior attempts have not yielded success.
Read More 1
Read More 2
Webcam