Hastings Pier Reopens –visit1066 Country. Well, not just yet!

http://www.visit1066country.com/things-to-do/attractions/hastings-pier-reopens-p1233701

Following a £14.2m refurbishment and over two years work, Hastings Pier will re-open to the public in Spring next year with a gala celebration being planned for May 2016.

The pier will offer a full service restaurant in the one remaining original, and now restored, building plus a bistro in the newly built Visitor Centre. The two storey Visitor Centre doubles as a Heritage Centre, a digital archive of different aspects of the pier’s history, much of it contributed by local residents. It will also be licensed for weddings with function rooms for private events, receptions and meetings plus a roof terrace café.

Poor maintenance forced the closure of the pier some ten years ago and a major fire in October 2010 nearly destroyed the entire structure.

Much of the funding for the renovation of the pier came from a substantial Heritage Lottery Fund grant whilst a Community Share issue in the pier’s operating company raised over £600,000 from some 3,000 investors, many of whom are local to Hastings.

The pier has plans for farmers’ markets, outdoor cinema, concerts and theatre, Xmas fairs, ice rink, circus, art installations and night sky watching as well as the more traditional seaside promenading.