The public consultation on a new West Pier took place between September 2014 and February 2015. Its starting point was the document ‘A new West Pier? A Bridge to the Future’. Here is the report containing the Trust’s findings. It makes recommendations and suggests next steps.
The report covers the process in some detail but in summary:
- The majority of consultees wish to see some form of new West Pier.
- Consultees accept the starting assumptions that the Trust has to fulfil its obligations (such as clearing the sea bed of wreckage and establishing a West Pier heritage centre) before embarking upon a campaign to build a new pier
- The preference is for a low density promenade style pier with some innovative cultural attraction.
- Consultees share the Trust Board’s concerns on how to finance such a pier without resorting to a high density, commercial development
- Consultees recognise that this is very much a long-term goal. It will not be feasible to secure a new pier overnight because of funding and other constraints. Additionally, it will be beneficial for the i360 to become established before a major new development in the area is contemplated.
