The West Pier is a pier in Brighton, England. It was built in 1866 by Eugenius Birch and has been closed and deteriorating since 1975, awaiting renovation, although after two fires and several storms, little is left in situ. It was Brighton’s second pier, joining The Royal Suspension Chain Pier of 1823, and it is one of only two Grade I listed piers in the UK, the other being Clevedon Pier.(Extract from Wikipedia)
There is a strange beauty about the remains of the West pier. The beautiful colours of the rusting pillars lay testament to the Victorian ideology of the seaside escape whilst caught up in the modern world of plans and planning permissions. Maybe the seagulls will object to plans to uproot their resting place?
The fire that finally did for the pier happened way back in 2003. So this year marks the ten year anniversary of vested interests, socio economic and political auguments conspiring to halt any resolution to the great structure’s future.
In early 2006, the West Pier Trust announced a new plan to fund the restoration of the pier: a 183-metre observation tower, the i360, to be built on the West Pier promenade deck. The tower is planned to carry 100 visitors at a time to a viewing platform 150 metres above sea level. The projected numbers of visitors “look realistic” according to experts. The projected cost of the tower is £15 to £20 million and it will take two to three years to build. Some demolition and removal of part of the iron debris of the West Pier accessible at low tide took place early in 2010. The construction of the metal tubes for the tower is already in progress in the Netherlands, and a loan of 3 million Pounds has been given by a local growth fund. The tower is expected to open in 2015.(Wikipedia)
Let’s hope it restores the Pier’s former glory.
nevillebarber 