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We must give pier one more chance

Call for independent inquiry to seal landmark's fate

The Argus - Comment Thursday, 14 October, 2004

THE West Pier Trust is calling for an independent investigation to help determine the landmark's future once and for all. Everyone involved in the failed negotiations over the past ten years has been invited to come together in a final attempt to rescue the battered heritage site. Here, trust chief executive DR GEOFF LOCKWOOD explains why the pier must be given one more chance.

IT IS time to stop dithering over the West Pier.

One way or the other, it is time for a clear and public decision on an issue that has dragged on for more than 30 years.

If it has no future, we deserve to be told - officially - rather than letting a cloud of uncertainty hang over the pier for decades to come.

Of course, the West Pier Trust would rather hear a positive plan of action to rescue the heritage site, which has played a crucial part in the life of Brighton and Hove.

We want to kick-start talks with the principal parties who have been involved in planning for the restoration over the past ten years.

Brighton and Hove City Council, English Heritage, the Heritage Lottery Fund and local MPs should come together urgently in a final attempt to find a way forward.

They owe it to the citizens of Brighton and Hove and supporters of the West Pier worldwide to either create a solution or jointly accept that all attempts to put in place a heritage-based future for the pier have been exhausted.

Such a future should not be allowed to wither away amid private assessments of individual authorities. The best way to reach a firm and public conclusion would be to allow an independent expert to assess the options for the future of the West Pier and produce a report by February 2005.

Public confidence in, and acceptance of, the eventual joint conclusion will be greater if the report is independent.

The trust further proposes that the consultant's report should be presented to a summit of all parties, and selected others, in March 2005 with a view to agreeing a joint and public conclusion on the future of the West Pier.

Public support will be a crucial part of any restoration plan.

People must be reminded of the words of English Heritage, which described the West Pier as "the finest pleasure pier ever built". How many other heritage assets can claim to be "the finest" in their category?

Even in its present distressing state, English Heritage agrees that the pier meets international standards for restoration capability.

The trust has significant artefacts in store and designs in hand to ensure authenticity of any restoration, repair or reconstruction.

There is a range of options for a heritage-based future for the West Pier which merit careful assessment.

They include:

• A Twenties repair and reconstruction. This was the option worked on from 1995 to 2004. It would be worth a consultant looking at it again to see whether its costs could be reduced or its financial returns improved so that the public or lottery contribution could be kept at or under the £15 million agreed in 1998.
• A Twenties reconstruction/replica. This option, proposed by a private sector group, would replicate rather than repair the substructure but would reconstruct from the deck upwards with significant re-use of original artefacts, including some original piles on the beach area. It is estimated that the public or lottery contribution could be kept to £8 million.
• An 1866 promenade pier. This option, which would involve the reconstruction of the 1866 or 1875 pier, is not attractive to the private sector. Its capital and sinking fund costs would need to be provided mainly from public or lottery sources.
• A stabilised ruin. Many UK heritage sites are maintained as stabilised ruins. Under this option the pavilion island would be stabilised and floodlit and a variety of light shows would illustrate the history of the West Pier. The public or lottery costs would be under £5 million.
• Alternative piers. The possibility of a pier built with the theme of peace, spa or eco in mind have been raised. The consultant would need to assess how much of the heritage of the West Pier could be retained under each of these options.
• Offshore developments. Plans for islands developed seawards of the West Pier, costing about £500 million, have also been suggested. It has been claimed that the Twenties repair and reconstruction of the West Pier could he included at no cost to the public or lottery. What is common to all these options is the creation of a heritage centre at the landward end of the pier.

All of the parties to the failed negotiations during the past ten years have an obligation to reach a final assessment on its future.

If the outcome is negative, then the authorities can commence planning for the use of the site to assist the regeneration and development of the Brighton and Hove seafront.

Last month, Prime Minister Tony Blair was quoted in this newspaper as saying: "It is a great shame that the West Pier is in such bad shape.

"And if there is any way practically that it can be restored, I hope that all parties can get together and make it happen."

The physical state of the Old Lady cries out for a clear decision on its future.

We hope that all parties will come together and agree one.