Hastings Pier on the verge...

[Barrel of Fun]

Pier Could Collapse Within Hours (from The Argus)</title>

"Experts expect a 60m-long stretch of the structure will plunge into the sea at any moment."

Eugenius Birch will be turning in his grave.

 

[steward 433]

Why are the councils allowed to get away with letting some of our most beautiful national heratige just fall into the sea?

It's a travesty for Hastings as was the West pier in Brighton

 

[¡Cereal Killer!]

Im suprised that the West Pier hasnt collapsed into the sea after this weeks weather.

 

[dylan_bha]

pics?

 

[Timbo]

I don't think anyone would notice. It has to be the worst 'tourist attraction' in the world.

 

[NMH]

Im suprised that the West Pier hasnt collapsed into the sea after this weeks weather.

Fraid we are stuck with a bunch of crap looking spikes sticking out of the sea, for the rest of our lives.
We'll be embarrassed by t-shirts; "I saw the eye-sore - Brighton, once-great seaside city"

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Eye-sore?

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

The West Pier is BEAUTIFUL - and stands as a proud monument to the inept and inert councillors of the past quarter century who never realised what they were supposed to be custodians of. Think it's all in the past? Look at the state of the bandstand just beyond the West Pier. Utterly shameful.

 

[NMH]

Eye-sore?

Too bloody right. At least - it is for everyone who remembers in it's full glory, and perhaps went on it regularly. That skeleton isn't more than an eyesore to me I'm afraid.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

Contrary to popular belief, i.e. if you watch BBC of Meridian, the main section of the pier has not been shut because of the recent weather.

It has been shut for a year and a half.

 

[smudge]

The West Pier is BEAUTIFUL - and stands as a proud monument to the inept and inert councillors of the past quarter century who never realised what they were supposed to be custodians of. Think it's all in the past? Look at the state of the bandstand just beyond the West Pier. Utterly shameful.

I fully concur! Also, the old kids paddling pool which I loved as a nipper was just left to decay until they decided to tarmac it over. Twats.

 

[Stinky Kat]

sad as it is, the pier in Hastings has had its day. The council would be wrong to rescue a pier that is in private ownership when council tax payers money would be better spent on the local infrastructure and housing, health, education etc.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

A charitable trust has just been set up with a view to taking over ownership of the STRUCTURE and trying to attract a private company to run the TOP.

This would require a 'piggy back' style deal from the council where they compulsory purchase the pier and sell it straight away.

Not likely under the current council. Might all change on May 1...

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Too bloody right. At least - it is for everyone who remembers in it's full glory, and perhaps went on it regularly. That skeleton isn't more than an eyesore to me I'm afraid.

It is obviously a matter of personal preference. The skeletal structure is a magnificent reminder of Victorian Engineering and looks breathtaking at dusk and dawn.

I am sure the Inca trail and the Parthenon looked splendid it all it's glory, but the ruins should not be removed. The beach would look naked without the West Pier.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

A charitable trust has just been set up with a view to taking over ownership of the STRUCTURE

Hope they're better than the useless duffers who ran the West Pier Trust. Might still run it for all I know. Every time there was a fire or another bit of it fell into the sea, there would be Geoff Lockwood standing on the beach in an anorak, giggling to camera' Tee-hee, just a minor set-back, we can easily rebuild it'

Total and utter

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Hope they're better than the useless duffers who ran the West Pier Trust. Might still run it for all I know. Every time there was a fire or another bit of it fell into the sea, there would be Geoff Lockwood standing on the beach in an anorak, giggling to camera' Tee-hee, just a minor set-back, we can easily rebuild it'

Total and utter

Very harsh indeed. Lockwood dedicates much of his time to the future of the West Pier and the i360 has given it a new lease of life. If anyone is to blame it is AVP Industries and the West Pier Trust actually saved the pier. It is not easy to gain funding and the primary collapse was hardly the fault of the trust.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Very harsh indeed. Lockwood dedicates much of his time to the future of the West Pier

Well he's not very good at it IMHO

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Well he's not very good at it IMHO

Should this not run parallel with the Falmer Stadium thread? Why are we still waiting for both ventures to take shape?

 

[Pavilionaire]

One of the few things Hastings has got in its favour is its seaside heritage. Can the local council afford NOT to invest in some sort of restoration project?

 

[Brighton Breezy]

One of the few things Hastings has got in its favour is its seaside heritage. Can the local council afford NOT to invest in some sort of restoration project?

It is owned by a private company called Ravenclaw which is based in Panama.

Once the town lost its casino bid they lost interest. Their spokesman and the day to day manager of the pier is now barricaded into a sea fortress in the Solent...

http://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/newshastings/Pier-manager-barricades-himself-inside.3872353.jp

Even to demolish the pier would cost four million. Money the borough council cannot afford to throw around willy nilly. To restore it would cost in excess of twenty million not to mention the annual cost for its keep up.