Neighbours of West Pier say its time is up

Society calls for removal of seaside landmark

Andy Tate - The Argus Tuesday, 24 May, 2005

NEIGHBOURS of Brighton's rusting West Pier have called for it to be pulled down.

The Regency Square Area Society said the remains of the collapsed concert hall on the "sad old lady" should be cleared away immediately in the interest of safety.

It added that if the skeleton of the former pavilion at the seaward end could not be saved as a memorial within 12 months then that too should be demolished.

It is the first clear sign that the tolerance of residents and businesses in the area for the continuing fight to save the structure might have been tested to the limit.

The West Pier Trust, which owns the pier, should also be wound up, the society said.

Society chairman Roger Hinton said: "Many attempts have been made to put together a scheme to save Brighton's West Pier.

"Unfortunately it is now time to face reality. There is no pier to restore and no money to deal with."

Mr Hinton said the lower promenade surrounding the pier was suffering and described the concert hall as a mess. He called for decking at the shore end to be cleared of temporary buildings and the lower promenade on either side of the pier to be brought up to the standard of nearby areas.

But the West Pier Trust today vowed to continue the fight to have the rusting iron structure restored.

Geoff Lockwood, chief executive of the trust, said: "I would have hoped the society would have taken a broader public view than the narrow interests of residents.

"The West Pier site is part of the heritage of England and is crucial to the continuing regeneration of Brighton and Hove seafront."

Dr Lockwood insisted the pier was safe and said if any more of the structure collapsed it would fall into the sea to join the rest of the wreckage on the seabed. Twenty warning notices have been put up to warn people against climbing the pier and there are plans to install buoys along its length.

The trust and Brighton and Hove City Council have been in discussions with potential private sector partners about "specific ideas" for a new pier combining a contemporary structure with surviving elements of the original.

Dr Lockwood said: "The trust is charged with using the pier for the public benefit and we believe that a scheme that blends the heritage with a distinctive and distinguished forward-looking structure will continue the evolution of the site to that public benefit."

In January 2004, the trust's hopes of bringing the pier back to its former glory with public money were dashed when the National Lottery fund withdrew its support for the restoration.

Designed by Eugenius Birch, the pier opened in 1866 as a simple promenade and later acquired a bandstand, then a theatre, and later still a sumptuous 1,400-seat concert hall.