Sefton Council releases new images showing extent of damage to Southport Pier as it continues to seek the estimated £13m needed to get the Victorian attraction reopened. Tony McDonough reports
Sefton Council has released new images showing the extent of the damage to Southport Pier.
Civil engineers from AE Yates are carrying out extensive exploratory and invasive investigative works to assess what needs to be done to safely reopen it. Initial estimates suggest the cost would be £13m, money the council does not have.
These latest images reveal significant holes and erosion in the pier’s steelwork as well as the damage to the decking boards.
In June LBN reported that the pier, which first opened to the public in 1860, would remain closed for the foreseeable future. Freezing temperatures in December 2022 caused “significant and unavoidable damage” to the structure.
In September Sefton Council estimated it could cost around £13m to get the pier fixed and open again. But it admitted that it simply did not have the money and was pushing the Government for support. The closure has been devastating for businesses on the pier.
In mid November it announced it had brought in AE Yates at a cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds to carry out “exploratory and investigative works”.
Cllr Marion Atkinson, Sefton Council Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Skills, said: “If there is anyone out there who still believes the pier should not currently be closed then these images will make them think again.
“Our contractors AE Yates have been superb in carrying out these exploratory works and without them extensively removing the decking boards, we would not be able to see the shocking level of damage to the steelwork.
“As everyone can see this is by no means a small task and I want to thank AE Yates for their work so far. It gives us an even better understanding of the current structural integrity of the pier.
“Sadly, owing to poor workmanship commissioned in 2000, work that should have lasted up to 30 years for timber and longer for the steel work was sub-standard and we inherited a structure that was flawed. These pictures clearly show that.
“As we all know you can patch up a car or a house with temporary repairs and fixes, but if the structure you’re maintaining is flawed, you are going to need some major work and that’s the point we have reached
“However, the council simply does not have the budgets required to fulfil these works without help, and we strongly believe that a nationally significant heritage asset such as this should have national funding allocated for both the project and the ongoing maintenance thereafter.”