West Pier, Brighton
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The West Pier is a pier in Brighton. It was built in 1866 by Eugenius Birch and has been closed and deteriorating since 1975, awaiting renovation. The West Pier is one of only two Grade 1 listed piers in the UK, the other being Clevedon Pier. It was the town's second pier, joining The Royal Suspension Chain Pier of 1823.
Plans by the charity which now owns the pier — the West Pier Trust — to renovate the pier with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund were opposed by some local residents. The local media reported that a major concern was the impact of commercial operations on the shore which were apparently required to help fund the project. The Noble brothers, owners of the distinctly different Brighton Pier of 1899 (traditonally known as the Palace Pier) joined the objectors, having originally been supporters of the restoration scheme (the 1996 Year of the Pier was launched from the Palace Pier). Their reported point of view was that subsidised rebuilding, were it to happen, would represent unfair competition.
Having already been cut off from the shore (partly deliberately, for safety reasons), the West Pier suffered a serious partial collapse on December 29, 2002 when a walkway connecting the concert hall and pavilion fell into the sea after being battered by storms. On January 20, 2003 a further collapse saw the destruction of the concert hall in the middle of the pier. On 28 March, 2003 the pavilion at the end of the pier caught fire. Firefighters were unable to save the building from destruction because they could not reach the end of the pier, the walkway having not been replaced. The cause of the fire remains unknown. On May 12, 2003, another fire broke out, consuming most of what was left of the concert hall. Arson was suspected; the West Pier Trust refers to the fires as the work of "professional arsonists". On June 23, 2004 high winds caused the middle of the pier to completely collapse.
Despite all these setbacks, the West Pier Trust remained adamant they would soon begin full restoration work. Finally, in December 2004, the Trust conceded defeat, after their plans were rejected by the Heritage Lottery Fund due in part to problems with achieving the required "matched funding" from outside sources. Subsequent less ambitious plans to restore only the oldest, structural parts of the pier were eventually rejected by English Heritage. However, in September 2005 the Trust revealed in their newsletter that they are forming further plans to rebuild the original structure with help from private funding. Some local residents and groups continue to oppose restoration plans.
In December 2005 the last remaining physical structure, the "little white hut" was lost when strong winds broke it away into the sea. Ironically, whilst the rest of pier had been intact, the hut had been said to be in serious threat of falling into the sea; yet it was the last piece to remain.
In Spring 2006, the West Pier Trust announced a new plan to fund the restoration of the pier: a 183-metre observation tower ('Brighton i360') situated on the West Pier promenade deck. The tower is planned to carry 100 visitors at a time to a pod 150 metres above sea level. The projected cost of the tower is £15 to £20 million and it would take 2 to 3 years to build. A ticket will cost around £8 and the Trust expects around half a million paying visitors each year. No date for the construction of the privately-funded tower has been announced.
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