Council Leaders report from Peter Chowney

"Following the march along the seafront to demonstrate against the pier being closed without notice or explanation about why, a meeting was held at the council offices with the pier’s owner, Mr Gulzar and Brett McLean (supporting Mr Gulzar), along with Amber Rudd, Friends of Hastings Pier, the organiser of the march, council officers and me.

The meeting was cordial, although it was difficult to get any clear answer about when the pier would be re-opened, or why it was closed at all. However, Mr Gulzar did eventually commit to re-opening the pier by the end of March. He was asked why it was necessary to close the whole pier, since the only repairs needed seemed to be to a small electrical fire in the pavilion restaurant, but there was no hint that Mr Gulzar would consider re-opening the rest of the pier. He also stated that vandalism was a reason the pier had been closed, but was unclear about how that would be dealt with so the pier could be re-opened.

All present were as encouraging as they could be, saying that some of the long term plans he’d proposed seemed positive: a landing stage with boats to Eastbourne, replacing the lost eastern pavilion, and a new building for events and performances. We all encouraged him to make the details of these plans public as soon as possible (he hasn’t approached the council with any proposals yet, beyond minor issues and additions, such as a series of ‘log cabin’ kiosks).

Mr Gulzar complained about the council taking too long to consider his planning applications, but it was pointed out that of the six applications he’s submitted, four of them are invalid.

It’s fair to say that myself, Amber Rudd, and the Friends of Hastings Pier were pretty united in what we were saying to Mr Gulzar, which can be summarised as:

• Get the pier re-opened as soon as possible;
• Work with Friends of Hastings Pier, and reach out to the people of Hastings more to involve them in the future of the pier;
• Put notices on the pier to say exactly why it’s closed and when it will re-open;
• Work with the council to discuss planning applications before you submit them, and don’t carry out work on the pier without listed buildings consent;
• Make the detail of your longer-term plans known, as this could be popular and would help repair damaged relations with the public.

It was unclear whether these requests will be met, but we’ll have to hope that Mr Gulzar got the message and will involve others (including the council, Friends of Hastings Pier, and the wider community) in the future."  http://www.hastingsandryelabour.org.uk/hastings-council-leaders-report-february-2019  scroll down, 3rd item