About the Trust

Aims of the Trust

The West Pier Trust was created in 1978. It is a charity and a limited company which owns the pier and the rights that attach to it. It is non-profit making. The objects for which the Trust is established are:

1. to preserve and enhance for the public benefit the area comprising the Pier, the foreshore around and below it and their immediate surroundings which are hereinafter referred to as ‘the area of benefit’;
2. to promote high standards of planning and architecture in the area of benefit;
3. to secure the preservation protection development and improvement of features of historic interest in the area of benefit.

Initially the Trust’s aim was to restore the pier and return it to pubic use. After several near misses in the 1980s a real opportunity of achieving the restoration came with the creation of the National Lottery in 1994. The Prime Minister, John Major, quoted the pier as an example of the sort of project whose only hope of success would be via an injection of Lottery monies.

History of the Trust

In 1998 the Trust was awarded £14.2m by the Heritage Lottery Fund towards the restoration of the pier. Years of tortuous negotiation with the Heritage Lottery Fund with a series of private sector partners ensued against a background of sustained opposition from the owners of the Brighton Pier. Finally by 2003 all obstacles had been overcome and the Trust was on the brink of restoration. In March and May 2003 two devastating arson attacks destroyed the Pavilion and Concert Hall. The Heritage Lottery Fund decided in January 2004 to withdraw its grant. English Heritage withdrew its support for the restoration of the pier later that year.

In 2005 the Trust recognised that with no prospect of public funding the full restoration of the pier could not be achieved. Instead it settled on looking for a solution that would combine blending preservation of the heritage of the pier with the creation of heritage for the future. The objects of the Trust allow for a new feature provided that the Trust does its best to retain as much of the heritage as is practical and financially feasible. The i360 provides that perfect solution; its exquisite design and advanced technology are considered wholly appropriate for the site – a vertical pier.

The Trust believes that once the i360 is under construction there will be new interest in developing the pier itself. It would be a contemporary interpretation of the West Pier, like the i360, reflecting the high standards of design and advanced technology used by the designer of the pier, Eugenius Birch.

Membership

Anyone can become a member of the Trust. The membership fee is modest but it helps keep the organisation afloat and is an important statement of support during this transitional period.

If you would like to become a member visit our membership page.

Staff

Rachel has worked at the Trust since 1993.

She is Chief Executive and Company Secretary to the Board and its committees.

She oversees the management and funding of the Trust and can be contacted on 01273 321499 or rachel@westpier.co.uk

Chair

Glynn is a former Chief Executive of Brighton & Hove City Council and has recently retired as Chair of Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust.

He is Vice Chair of the Brighton Festival, Independent Member of the Council of Sussex University and is involved in a number of other local charitable organisations.