the west pier it seems is finally beyond hope as a conservation project. i'm in two minds about it, its been heartbreaking these last few years watching the old thing sink and burn and fall apart. i was working from home when it was first set on fire and with much of brighton went to the front and stood in shocked silence and watched it burn. now of course theres so little of the fabric left to recover that any restoration would be a replica rather than a renovation.
several things must be done. we can leave the pier as a glorious ruin on the front or build a new pier. i've no idea when the last most recent pier in the UK was built, but there is no reason - provided it can be commerically distinct from the palace pier - why a new one can't be built. a perfect job for alsop i would have thought, and now the fourth grace is on hold in need of a waterfront project. given brighton council's long overdue commitment to commisioning new architecture of quality - gherys overblown towers, the ice rink for black rock and its commitment to replace the brighton centre; a competition for a replacement pier should be launched.
and of our victorian pier heritage? now we are a one pier town the palace pier must be forced to restore some architectrally important details removed some time ago to make room for more fun fair on a 'temporary' basis.
"Rebuilding of the pier remains technically possible, but it would no longer possess the historic credibility English Heritage would seek in the restoration of a Grade I listed building. Our review indicates that the project would cost in excess of £20 million and the pier could not be guaranteed to last for many years without an additional £5 million repair fund being set up. English Heritage has therefore concluded that it would have to advise any body considering funding a restoration of the West Pier that there is no longer a strong conservation case to support such a project."
english heritage
Southwold's is the most recent pier, so far as I am aware. It opened in 2002 and it's smashing. Proof, if any were needed, that it's possible to recreate that Victorian ethos in the twenty-first century.
Posted by: Martin on July 30, 2004 11:35 PM