People’s Pier Project to study Hastings Pier & Clevedon Pier

The People’s Pier project, led by the University of Brighton, aims to investigate how piers are changing from simple pleasure palaces with gambling machines and rides to hubs for hosting community events, including pop-up cinemas and music and food festivals.

The research will concentrate on two piers: Clevedon Pier and Hastings Pier in East Sussex.  The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) is providing £48,000 for early career researchers to help with the project which starts in May and runs for ten months.

“The University of Brighton has since 2001 played a key part in the education-led regeneration of Hastings and, with one of its campuses located in Hastings, it is well placed for this research project.

“The primary aim is to develop an understanding of how seaside pleasure pier culture converges with, engenders and sometimes resists twenty-first century community-led approaches to the economic regeneration of British seaside resorts.

“Due to their exposure to seawater and storms our nineteenth century piers, with their iron and wood constructions, are often financial liabilities. But piers are more than just metal and wood, more than treasured architectural landmarks – they are lived experiences shaped by the mood of the time and the socio-cultural make up of their location.

“It is important to gain an updated understanding of 21st century pier culture.  This includes more in-depth knowledge about how seaside piers as popular culture and leisure spaces converge with new usages such as those introduced with the concept of the community pier.”

Dr Jenzen will be collaborating on the project with academics from the universities of Bristol, Edinburgh and Kent.  She added: “We hope our research will show the strengths and challenges of running pleasure piers as community-ownership enterprises that other coastal communities who are looking to safeguard their piers from dereliction can benefit from.

“We hope to contribute to innovative ways of using pleasure piers as urban community spaces, and to establish how the community pier and its popular culture heritage can be utilised to build positive relationships across different groups and empower the community.”
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2015/may/peoples-pier-project.html