Another reason to knock down the West Pier

[Storer68]

That would be like saying the if the Albion moved out of the Goldstone it was because somebody burnt down the West Stand, when we would know it was years of neglect and a could not care less attitide by Bellotti and Stanley and those before them and the flaws were hidden as well.

Although someone did burn down the South Stand just in time for us to make it all seater and increase our seat capacity prior to playing in Div 1

 

[perseus]

main prob is that its a grade 1 listed building and you can't knock those down.

and the money, £16m, is set aside for its restoration not its re-creation. ie if you want it restored to look like it did, then you can have the £16m.

If you want to build a new one, you can't have that £16m and will have to pay for it from other sources (council tax?)

This is the problem. Unlist it. Then nobody will get killed in a futile waste of money to pretend to restore it.

 

[Yorkie]

What about the wild life?

"There's a complete marine habitat down there. Algae, plankton, barnacles, starfish, mussels, spiny sea urchins. The sheer abundance is amazing. You see it if you fins across from the Palace Pier to the West Pier. Mainly it's just sandy seabed for hundreds of yards, then you hit the pier and there's big shoals: conger eels, flat fish, cod, sea bass, rays, dogfish, it's teeming."

The West Pier Trust are aware of the diversity and value of the underwater habitat beneath their structure and are keen to treat it with sensitivity, says Sean.

macro photograph showing the large amount of marine life growing on a 40mm bolt head underneath the West Pier

 

[perseus]

This is underneath the Palace Pier

 

[Spicy]

I thought there had been lottery money earmarked for the restoration for several years now so it is a mystery to me why it has taken so long. To lose it is to lose part of Brighton's heritage - the restoration project should start now before it falls into a further state of disrepair.

 

[Dover]

One of the main reaons that there has not been a rebuild is the skills required. There are so few hot riviters, steel and iron workers that can repair Victorian buildings. They are quite simply dying.

Those that are around can and do charge large amounts of money because of their skills. These craftsmen are booked a year or so in advance of the next project. I would not expect any rebilding for the next two years.

Also this week a large beam at the far end pavillion has dissapered. This is a centre beam at the front, visible from the main prominade. I now wonder if the structure will fold within itself. Sad, but I strongly suspect, the structure will collpse with the next set of high winds and spring tides.

 

[CHAPPERS]

At last, someone addresses the real problem.

Why, oh why did they not build the West Pier at Pende? Schoolboy error methinks...

 

[perseus]

"Mister Eugenius, it is the sand-blasting that wore away at your wrought iron piles and made the pier wobble. Unlike the old Chain Pier which was built on a solid foundation of bedrock, there is sand underneath, so this gets whipped up by the waves and blasts the supports away ..."

"I've got a good idea. Why not make hollow iron piers, with holes in so when the tide comes in the supports fill up with seawater and the water drains out when the tide goes down. " (Eugenius)

 

[Robot Chicken]

I wonder how much money in loose change is in the sea below the Palace Pier?

 

[perseus]

"I expect that's why they call you ingenius Mister Eugenius. Of course, when the barnacles and mussels grow on the pier supports, they will block up the holes, so somebody will have to go down to clean them off."

This was stopped because of the danger to the diver (only one) in the 1960s.

The sea water then corroded the pier supports from both the inside and the outside. Will they stick to Eugenius Birch's original design (second attempt) with the replica?

Why can't the West Pier Trust find the original plans. Is it because somebody has lost them, Or because there weren't any proper plans in the first place?

 

[Bwian]

I too shall agree to disagree, maybe they can restore it and build a new one next to it so we are the only place in the world to have 3 piers!

Ooops!

Demand for piers in Blackpool was seemingly unstoppable, and a frenzied, pier-crazed public insisted that a third be built, as soon as possible. Blackpool South was duly constructed in 1892, using the breathtaking Worthington Screwpile System. It opened the following year, with an impressive ceremony that featured a choir, two brass bands and a full 50-piece orchestra.

 

[perseus]

I wonder how much money in loose change is in the sea below the Palace Pier?

Below the West Pier it will be the old money before decimalisation.

 

[Josky]

main prob is that its a grade 1 listed building and you can't knock those down.

and the money, £16m, is set aside for its restoration not its re-creation. ie if you want it restored to look like it did, then you can have the £16m.

If you want to build a new one, you can't have that £16m and will have to pay for it from other sources (council tax?)

At last someone speaks some sense.

English Heritage has a lot more expertise in listed buildings and whether a building is structurally sound, etc, etc than any of us. They have said restoration can go ahead, and as long as the cost doesn't come out of council coffers and just private investment, lottery et al, it should be restored to its former glory.

Brighton needs two piers. Demolishing the West Pier would be like ripping a ventricle from the heart of the City. And I'd hate the Noble organisation to win.

 

[CHAPPERS]

At last someone speaks some sense.

English Heritage has a lot more expertise in listed buildings and whether a building is structurally sound, etc, etc than any of us. They have said restoration can go ahead, and as long as the cost doesn't come out of council coffers and just private investment, lottery et al, it should be restored to its former glory.

Brighton needs two piers. Demolishing the West Pier would be like ripping a ventricle from the heart of the City. And I'd hate the Noble organisation to win.

 

[mona]

Let's rebuild the Chain Pier. It was the first pleasure pier in the world and is worthy of lottery money and is a valuable piece of our cultural heritage. Those dastardly Noble people have a ridiculous notion that seaside piers should be fun and attract day trippers.

As for Falmer Stadium, why should a conurbation of 400,000 expect to have a proper football ground? The bucolic inhabitants of ye olde Falmer village have the right to demand that uni halls of residence be built on the site.

 

[Brovion]

Ideally I'd like to find out who the arsonist was, find out what he thinks public money should be spent on - and then divert it from that to the West Pier.

 

[perseus]

The original thread was are you nieve enough to think if the money goes to the West Pier it will not mean that Lottery funding will he harder to get for other projects in Brighton & Hove and Sussex?

Any bridge in the world is deserving more than any pier, at least it has a point, it gets to the other side.

If you are going to build a replica I would prefer the Chain Pier. It was more elegant. The West Pier was just a heavy duty metal ramp with fancy bits.

Although, I would suggest improvements to stop the Chain Pier blowing away in a storm.

 

[Potters mate]

The Pier serves a much higher purpose, it is home to many of the citys seagulls and another homeless seagull is not what we want right now MR PRESCOTT. It must be preserved for their sake, the french rugby team take care of their cock and they hate animals (stop giggling teaboy!)

 

[perseus]

Seagulls should do their duty and should reserve their dive bombing and laying eggs down chimneys for south Londoners moving down to the south coast.

 

[Josky]

Any bridge in the world is deserving more than any pier, at least it has a point, it gets to the other side.

Odd argument you have there, Perseus.

It's like saying a wall chart has more purpose than a painting and therefore is more deserving of funding/attention/respect, etc

How very functional of you.