Isn't it time to build on heritage of West Pier?

Adam Trimingham - The Argus Opinion Wednesday, 27 April, 2005

LOOK along the lower esplanade in Brighton these days and you will see one of the liveliest and most beautiful seafronts in Britain.

But there is one big blot on the pretty picture and that is the derelict West Pier. Two collapses and two arson attacks have transformed what was a romantic ruin into a pile of twisted metal.

In the past ten years there have been high hopes that this building, probably the most delightful seaside pier ever created, could be restored to its Twenties splendour.

These hopes were dashed by a cruel combination of ill fortune, official obfuscation and criminal damage.

Now the Brighton West Pier Trust, which owns the structure, is looking at the way ahead for the first ever pier to become a Grade I listed building.

The withdrawal of financial support last year by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) effectively ended plans for a complete renovation.

There is no way in which a developer could have restored a pier in appalling condition without a great deal of public subsidy.

It was a shock. It was a surprise. It was a betrayal of the people of Brighton and Hove by a quango that should have been braver.

Withdrawal by the HLF made many people wonder whether this was at last the end of the pier show.

But the trust has instead chosen to regard it as an opportunity for looking at the pier in a new light.

It now has freedom to go ahead with a project on the site which is not entirely dominated by the past and it has the flexibility to look at new ideas.

One idea is to restore the main entrance to the pier at the shore end with a heritage centre in the neighbourhood.

It would be possible to rebuild the delightful concert hall in the centre of the pier and to renovate other sections using material which has been kept carefully in store.

But the rest of the pier could be a modern structure designed by a top architect to reflect the skills of this century rather than the Victorian age.

Trust chief executive Dr Geoff Lockwood says: "It would be reusing in a modern setting the jewels from a worn out Victorian ring."

Part of me wonders whether a modern pier head, fused on to the magnificent structure designed by Eugenius Birch, might look incongruous.

But the pier most of us grew to love was not all built at the same time. It was started in 1866 as a rather bare structure with a few kiosks. The theatre was not built until the 1890s and the concert hall was completed in 1916.

There are many other buildings, including historic churches and the Tower of London, which were built over a long period and as a result are a fusion of styles.

There has already been considerable interest in building a new pier in Brighton and several designs have been exciting.

If the project were to be agreed by the trust, the city council and English Heritage, many eminent architects and designers might be interested in the project.

Using modern materials, it would be possible to prepare a pier which required less maintenance than a traditional building and would be more likely to pay its way.

Such a structure would not need the kind of contribution that eventually led the HLF to withdraw its commitment, although some cash would be sought for the restoration element.

That might temper objections from the Palace Pier, which argued a revived West Pier with huge amounts of public or Lottery money amounted to unfair competition.

The new West Pier would also not need shoreline buildings on the scale of those proposed when planning permission was given for the original restoration.

That could lead to support from local people who were against the previous scheme because they thought the commercial pavilions on each side were ugly and unnecessary.

It might even result in support from conservation societies, which also opposed the original scheme, although some of them might not like the modern element.

Those who have doubts about this latest thinking on the pier should ponder the alternative: To leave the pier rotting and rusting into the Channel until a point came for it to be removed.

Who would pay for that to be done? Not the cash-strapped council which does not own the building. Not the trust which does not have either the money or the inclination. Not English Heritage which exists to preserve buildings rather than destroy them.

The cost of demolition could be a couple of million pounds and the pier would not lightly let go of life. More than 20 years ago, there was no end of trouble in blowing up another of Birch's piers at Margate - and he was only a beginner when he built that one.

I am extremely sad that the admirable aim of restoring the West Pier has had to be abandoned after all these years.

Those who did everything possible to obstruct it, ranging from the shadowy arsonists to the commercial opponents, should feel ashamed of themselves.

One of the loveliest historic buildings in Britain, and one which could have been restored, is now a sad wreck thanks to their efforts.

But there is still time for a new pier to be produced which would be unique. Brighton could lead the world in marine architecture now as it has in the past.

The new West Pier would be a tribute first of all to Eugenius Birch, the greatest pier builder there ever was.

It would also be a tribute to the many people who have strived to keep the pier dream alive, often against amazing odds.

These range all the way from John Lloyd, the donnish, determined founder of the trust who prevented demolition in the Seventies, to John Smith, the Tory councillor who chaired the trust at a grim time.

I would include among their number Admiral Sir Lindsay Bryson, who died last month.

He helped to put the trust on a business-like footing a decade ago when Lottery funds seemed likely and remained at the helm even when seriously ill.

Thirty years ago, the West Pier closed to the public for safety reasons after giving immense pleasure to millions of people for more than a century.

The story of how it came to be built covers a triumph of technology and a determination to provide an elegant pier people flocked to see so they could walk over water.

There is every reason to support far-sighted efforts being made today to ensure the new West Pier combines the best of the old with exciting new architecture and attractions.

Once it has been completed, the pier will be a soaring and spectacular part of the seafront instead of the sorry pile of scrap iron it is today.