Congratulations, Tim. “Awash with colour, this photograph of Hastings Pier has been awarded ‘judges’ favourite’ in the BBC Countryfile annual photography competition.
The stunning image was taken by Tim Clifton, of Old Harrow Road, St Leonards, earlier this year.”
http://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/news/local/a-stunning-sunset-1-5621438
Tim Fordham-Moss, Wednesday, 16th October 2013
http://www.spearswms.com/spears-world/wealth-wednesday/50367/investing-in-hastings-pier-wonand39t-leave-youat-sea.thtml
Ever thought of buying something on the south coast? How about a pier? A proper, good, old-fashioned Victorian pier.
Perhaps Hastings Pier, designed and built in 1872 and currently undergoing a £13.9 million renovation programme following years of neglect by absent landlords and a devastating fire three years ago.
You can’t buy the whole thing, but you can become a shareholder in the company that will own the pier. The good people of Hastings have battled over many years to raise the renovation funds and are now £500,000 away, which will take the form of a community share issue, ensuring local involvement for the future.
Plans for the pier range from the obvious, such as a proper deckchair rental operation, through to a microbrewery (pier beer), a mirrored visitor pavilion with rooftop viewing deck, farmers’ markets, an outdoor cinema, performance spaces and Christmas fairs, all the way to interesting technical advances.
An app will turn any view on the pier seen through a mobile or tablet into an antique image, using archive photography from the heritage centre the pier will house. Another will reveal the steelwork beneath the planking. And a less high-tech innovation is the possible use of glass as a part of the decking to give that real walking on water experience.
From its opening in 1872 through to closure in 2006, Hastings Pier was the centre of tourism and entertainment for much of the south of England. Originally part of the Victorian seaside boom, it evolved with the times and became an icon of rock and pop music well into the 1970s. Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Genesis and Pink Floyd all played the pier; the last time Syd Barrett played with the Floyd was on Hastings Pier.
Pictured above: Hastings Pier as it will be - if it gets enough investment
It’s a canny investment, as well as a generous one: Enterprise Investment Status (EIS) status should be awarded shortly so there are tax advantages in the investment, and the plans are to offer prudent interest returns as the pier develops through the share system.
The pier will ………….as a modern icon of art, culture, regeneration and the renewal of the English coastal tradition, with a 21st-century take on what the Victorians did for us.
A substantial shareholding in the pier will do a great deal of good for Hastings: the more attractive and cutting-edge the pier, the more visitors to the town, the longer they stay and the more money they will leave behind. After several bad years, this project allows Hastings to peer into a brighter future.
For more information, visit www.hpcharity.co.uk. Share purchase information is on www.microgenius.org.uk
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/hastings-residents-can-buy-100-2471011
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/437792/Community-shares-bid-to-revamp-pier
Community shares bid to revamp pier
Plans to raise money to help renovate a Victorian seaside pier damaged by fire are receiving waves of interest.
Shares plan for Hastings Pier proving hugely popular (From The ...
Plans to raise money to help renovate a Victorian seaside pier damaged by fire are receiving waves of interest.
www.theargus.co.uk/.../10750771.Shares_plan_for_Hastings_...
How Hastings Pier could look after restoration | Meridian - ITV News
Read the latest Meridian stories, How Hastings Pier could look after restoration on ITV News, videos, stories and all the latest Meridian news.
www.itv.com/.../how-hastings-pier-could-look-after-restoratio...
Community shares bid to revamp pier - Belfast Telegraph
Plans to raise money to help renovate a Victorian seaside pier damaged by fire are ... Simon Opie, chief executive of Hastings Pier Charity, said: "A thriving pier ...
Wave of interest for bid to create people's pier - The Guardian
Three years after a major fire destroyed much of the Victorian structure, theHastings Pier Charity has registered as a Community Benefit Society and with ...
Community shares bid to revamp pier - ic Solihull.co.uk
Plans to raise money to help renovate a Victorian seaside pier damaged by fire ... pier in East Sussex, which was almost destroyed in a blaze three years ago.
Hastings Pier shares sales total more than £70k BBC News
Hastings Pier Charity hopes a further £300,000 can be raised by selling 3,000 shares[sic] for £100 each. The charity said the money raised will be used as part of ...
WITH rebuilding work to start over the coming months, reporter Hannah Collisson took a tour of Hastings Pier with project engineer Peter Wheeler to get a closer look. - http://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/news/local/video-tour-of-hastings-pier-1-5585830
There may not be much activity obvious to the casual passer-by, but behind the scenes work is well underway, and there is a clear vision of the pier’s future.
A walkway has been constructed, making the length of the pier accessible for the first time since the devastating fire of 2010. This has made it possible for the team to better assess the condition of the structure, and also to carry out surveys including 3-D mapping using lasers.
Project engineer Peter Wheeler said: “It wasn’t until we flew a drone over the pier in August that we realised how bad the damage to the deck was, and it was quite a surprise. But in some ways the fire has actually done us a little bit of a favour because it’s cleared the structure and we can look underneath it now.
“One of the problems that we face is that there is a column that has collapsed underneath the parade extension, and that has got to be put back in situ so that the deck is able to take the weight of the machinery, which we need to start rebuilding the whole of the pier.
Mr Wheeler appealed to the public to heed warnings not to walk beneath the pier for their own safety, while work is ongoing.
“One of the ambitions is to take away the destroyed ballroom as quickly as possible, as it is an eyesore,” he added. “The best way of doing it is to build a new structure as we go, so we can get the machinery out there. We hope to be out there by about mid-February.”
The scale of the project becomes apparent walking out along the pier from the shore. Below our feet the majority of the deck is gone, and some of the metal structure underneath is buckled and twisted. A surviving wooden bench facing out to sea, and an unopened beer barrel suspended in the wreckage of the ballroom, are symbols of what was and what could be in the future.
Even among the destruction, it is impossible to ignore the potential for beauty, especially on a crisp autumn morning, with sunshine casting both the pier, and the coastline of Hastings and St Leonards, stretching away in the distance, in a flattering light.
Mr Wheeler said: “There is a lot of thought that has gone into what should happen with the pier. The concept is to make it a modern pier - the pier has been evolving over 150 years or so.”
From Eugenius Birch’s original structure of the 19th century, Hastings Pier has grown and changed over the decades, prompted by the various challenges it has faced; the original ballroom was destroyed in a fire in 1917, and during the Second World War, the middle section was removed to prevent the pier being used as a landing stage by the enemy.
The heritage of the Grade II listed pier is an important aspect of the renovation project.
Mr Wheeler said: “The original Birch pier is a fascinating structure. We are trying to preserve and record as much as possible, so that we have a real sense of history about the pier
In its new incarnation set to open to the public in 2015, Hastings Pier will initially offer a teaching restaurant, a modern visitors centre, and significantly, once the deck is repaired, a huge amount of open space - a “public park above the sea” - a flexible space in which the programme of events on which the future of the pier rests will take place.
The community hub at the White Rock Baths will be the go-to place for all pier-related information, once work gets underway, with films, talks and educational projects to engage the public. Webcams will also be tracking the progress of the rebuilding work.
STUDENTS explored the past, present and future of the pier when they took on the challenge set by Hastings Pier Charity and the University of Brighton of making a heritage film.
Nine groups of Broadcast Media students from the University of Brighton in Hastings were given one of five heritage themes, along with a pack of archive materials and the opportunity to interview an expert.
They then had just a week to produce a three-minute film, as part of the competition funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, some of which will be made available for the general public to view in the new visitor centre or in Hastings Pier Charity’s community hub, to open in White Rock Baths.
The themes were: The Peerless Pier; The Victorians on Holiday; Hastings Pier’s musical heritage; Earth, Wind and Fire: The challenges that have faced Hastings Pier; and 21st Century Pier.
See the prize winning film, and more details at
http://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/news/local/students-rise-to-film-challenge-1-5574666
Here you can either view or download the Outline Business Plan from Hastings Pier Charity.
To view online, just click on the image below, and the document will open in your browser (please be patient, as document may take some time to load).
To download the document, use the link below the image.
Download the Business Plan (PDF, 303kb)
Community shares offered in derelict Hastings Pier BBC News
Shares in a derelict seaside pier that was almost destroyed by fire three years ago will be offered to the community to aid its restoration. Hastings Pier is being ...
Owning a piece of Hastings Pier - ITV News - ITV.com
Read Owning a piece of Hastings Pier latest on ITV News. All the Friday 4th October 2013 news.
www.itv.com/news/.../2013.../owning-a-piece-of-hastings-pier/
Thank you, ITV
Hastings & St Leonards Observer, Friday, 4th October 2013, p. 9
