West Pier: Who is to blame?

From the moment beachcombers began picking up the pieces of the splintered West Pier scattered across Brighton beach on Sunday, there has been a growing sense of indignation over why no one bothered to restore such a fine example of English heritage before much of it ended up as driftwood.

The outrage is shared by a raft of organisations with interests in returning the pier to its former glory but, while many have argued that funding worth millions should have been spent on rebuilding the dilapidated relic, most have blamed each other for leaving it far too late to save one of Brighton's best-loved features before a key section of it collapsed.

It is feared more of the disintegrating structure, including the grand concert hall, will come down with the tides before the row over who should take responsibility for the repair of the pier is resolved.

Dr Geoff Lockwood, chief executive of the West Pier Trust, said: "I am not just sad, I'm really angry.

"The damage that occurred on Sunday was avoidable, entirely avoidable. The concert hall was one of the finest pieces of single seaside architecture."

Dr Lockwood blamed red tape for stopping the restoration proposals from becoming a reality.

He said: "The legal obstacles have held us up for more than a year and the public authorities involved have all gone through due process dotting every i and crossing every t while this beautiful structure deteriorates rapidly.

"It is a terrible shame that it has got to this stage.

"We feel all the parties involved could have taken a risk instead of no risk at all."

The biggest boost to the West Pier was in 1996 when the trust was given £14.2 million of National Lottery cash.

However, the plans were put in jeopardy when a legal challenge was launched by the Noble Organisation, which owns the Palace Pier and which argued giving money for what they say was largely a commercial venture was "unfair competition".

Former boxer Chris Eubank, who hoped to turn the pier into his home, also became involved in a consortium in a bid to try to buy the pier and restore it but it was never realised after the main company behind the plans was wound up.

Part of the recent problems, according to Dr Lockwood, have spawned from the lottery requirement that the trust must find a commercial partner.

This in turn has led to protests after the partner chosen, St Modwen, announced plans to build a two-storey commercial development on the seafront to provide a viable business opportunity and financial support to restore the pier.

Dr Lockwood said: "In April 2001 we were ready to finally start restoration work. The concert hall would have been ready for this weather and would have been secured.

"What stopped it was the Noble Organisation's legal challenge and the lottery fund froze the project for a year.

"We begged them not to do it and predicted this would happen."

The National Heritage Lottery Fund was defensive about the help it had given the West Pier.

Spokeswoman Katie Owen said: "We have been a long-time supporter of the project to save Brighton's West Pier because it is very important to the country's heritage.

"It is terribly sad that this damage has happened but I don't think any criticism can be levelled on us.

"We only started giving out grants in 1995 and we could not have given anything any sooner. We have to be careful with lottery money."

The Noble Organisation was equally sceptical of the trust trying to lay the blame at its door.

Director David Biesterfield said: "We are not by any means alone in opposing what the West Pier Trust is trying to do. It is a bit disingenuous to just try to blame us.

"We have never opposed the restoration of the West Pier. Our problem is it's a commercial project and anyone with half a brain would realise its very unfair, especially in a town that can't sustain two piers."

Mr Biesterfield was sceptical that the plan was a restoration project at all and argued it would now be a rebuild because so much was falling into the sea or rotting.

Brighton and Hove City Council expressed its sadness at Sunday's collapse but claimed it could not get involved and could only help discussion between all the relevant partners.

Ever since the old Brighton Borough Council declined to buy the pier in 1976, it has held itself at arms length from the restoration project although it did help to clear debris from the beach and sort it.

Hamish Mackenzie, of the city council, said: "All the wood that has been collected officially has gone to Stanmer Park to be stored until the West Pier Trust decides what to do with it.

"The wood saved will be used for the restoration but no one knows exactly what will happen to the wood they decide not to save. It may end up being sold as souvenirs."

Ken Bodfish, leader of the council, said: "It isn't the end for the pier at all. This year is the last year which we can delay on it and the council's view is that we want to see everyone getting together and restoring the pier.

"What has been interesting from this is not only the local reaction but the national reaction. A lot of people who were ambivalent have certainly realised it is a beautiful structure and it has to be saved."

There was also evidence of growing discontent among a wider audience as the West Pier languished in the sea and some people were questioning whether it was still worth spending millions of pounds of lottery money on restoration.

Anthony Wills, vice-chairman of the National Piers Society, said it was extremely depressing that year on year no progress had been made and Sue Paskins of the campaign group Save our Seafront, which is fighting plans for commercial development on the seafront, described it as "a monument to procrastination and bureaucracy".

Mr Wills said: "No structure can survive with total neglect over a number of years.

"I have to say if a major further collapse occurs and one of the two buildings are completely lost it will put a question mark over the whole project."

John Beagley, former project manager of the Hastings Pier restoration, revealed his organisation had offered to take on the West Pier and rebuild it a few years ago but the owners had refused.

He said: "It has gone so far now that to restore it is really beyond it. The West Pier was a really beautiful pier in its day and it would have been fairly straightforward to repair it a few years back.

"Everyone knows what has got to be done but now they need to do it."

Yesterday, engineers made a preliminary check of the pier and were confident there would be no further collapses but they are expected to return on Thursday to make a fuller assessment.

Paul Wells, former chairman of the Bognor Regis Heritage Project, which tried to get money to restore the town's own pier, said it was a disgrace that two of England's historic piers had been allowed to collapse into the sea.

About 200ft of the Bognor Regis pier collapsed two years ago after the project failed to get £2 million lottery funding.

Built in 1863 by famous pier engineer and architect Eugenius Birch, the West Pier cost £27,000.

It was opened in 1866 and was gradually altered and built on until 1916. But after the Second World War the pier went downhill.

In 1965 the West Pier Company was taken over by AVP Industries, which four years later sought permission to demolish the southern end.

The pier was listed to protect it but the rot had already set in and the southern part was closed in 1970 because it had become dangerous.

In 1971 a public inquiry was held to determine the pier's future but when the council's policy committee recommended demolition should not be opposed there was an outcry.

The pier closed in 1975 and has been left derelict ever since.

After the closure the council declined to buy the pier and served a dangerous structure notice on it, which sent the West Pier Company into liquidation.

The pier became the property of the Crown with the council setting aside £300,000 in case demolition became a necessity.

After several abortive attempts to restore the pier, it was bought for the nominal sum of £100 by the West Pier Trust in 1984 when Crown Estate Commissioners were satisfied they had enough resources to prevent it becoming dangerous.

Until recently it was the only Grade I listed pier in the UK and, while the sea will be calm for the next few days, more storms are expected and there is nothing to say it will not become the only Grade I listed pier to completely fall into the sea.