Worthing Borough Council hopeful Worthing pier can reopen soon

Worthing Borough Council said contractors had made “great progress” on Wednesday, completing a large amount of welding and bracing on the new steel support structure under the pier.

The pier has been closed since October 20 when structural damage to its supports, believed to have been caused by debris from a storm, was found.

The latest work has allowed for the construction of a platform so that engineers can complete the work from the above deck rather than the shore.

Repairs can only be done safely on the beach during the spring low tides and strong winds and driving rain cut the length of the low tides on Monday and Tuesday, hindering progress.

A council spokesman said: “Yesterday’s progress has meant that today a scaffolding team was on site to examine the pier and design exactly what temporary scaffolding they need to put up that will allow our contractors to safely finish the last stages of the project from above without waiting for the next set of spring low tides.

Underneath Worthing Pier (Image: Worthing Borough Council) “We’re expecting strong winds over the next few days so we won’t begin to assemble that scaffolding until Monday - we don’t want to take the chance that the weather could dislodge the scaffolding and cause new damage to the pier.

“Instead, we’ll begin moving out of the compound next to the pier any heavy equipment that is not needed for these later stages of the project, so that when the project is complete we can restore full access to the beach as soon as possible.

“After the compound has been removed, our teams plan to carry out routine coastal defence work on the beach between the pier and the lido.”

People have been urged again not to go under or on the pier or over the temporary fencing.

“These areas are not safe for residents to enter and any damage caused could delay when we can make the pier safe enough for us to reopen it,” the council spokesman said.