Public to take in a pier view

Adam Trimingham - The Argus Thursday, 11 April, 2002

PLANS to restore the only Grade I listed pier in the UK go on display next week.

They will be in an exhibition at the West Pier in Brighton from Wednesday until Tuesday, April 23, between 10am and 5pm.

The display, at offices of the Brighton West Pier Trust, will include a model of the restoration proposals together with plans, elevations and impressions of the development.

Developers St Modwen and the trust have already distributed more than 110,000 newsletters to residents in the Brighton area giving details of the exhibition and of the trust website at www.westpier.co.uk which also shows the plans.

A planning application has been submitted to Brighton and Hove City Council for buildings on either side of the pier at the shore end which the trust says are essential to make restoration viable.

Trust chief executive Dr Geoff Lockwood said: "The people of Brighton and Hove need and deserve the authentic restoration of the West Pier.

"The seafront life and the economy of Brighton and Hove need vibrancy at, and surrounding, the pier. It is about putting back a piece of the city's past for the benefit of its future."

St Modwen regional director Nick Doyle said the views of people were important to the company.

He said: "The exhibition centrepiece will be a model of the pier which puts the scale of the proposed enabling development into context and demonstrates how views of the pier will be maintained."

There has been strong opposition by neighbours and conservation societies to the shoreline development, proposed as two modem pavilions.

A group called Save Our Seafront has also distributed leaflets to homes saying the development will block views.

The pavilions, designed by KSS Architects, will include restaurants, bars, shops, leisure and entertainment uses.

If approved, they will also provide funding for the future maintenance and repair of the pier for the next 150 years.

Work on restoring the pier and building the two pavilions could start a year from now after emergency repairs later this year.

This timetable would see the restored pier open to the public by the summer of 2004 for the first time since 1975.