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West Pier clean-up operation begins (From The Argus)
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West Pier clean-up operation begins
11:24am Tuesday 2nd February 2010
The wreckage of the West Pier started to be removed from Brighton beach today.
The West Pier Trust announced the remains of the collapsed concert hall, the part closest to the shore, will be gradually dismantled at low tides over the next two weeks.
The trust, which owns the fire-wrecked pier and its site, said it had to be taken away for health and safety reasons. The main "island" section of the pier will remain untouched.
Trust chief executive Rachel Clark said: "For the last couple of years the concert hall has been resting on the sea bed and it has been quite dangerous. People could climb on it and we would be liable if they got hurt."
A fence has been set up around the site.
Brighton and Hove City Council leader Mary Mears said: "For many, the removal of part of the West Pier will be a sad moment. It’s part of our history and we’ve lived with it for a long time.
"However, time moves on and we welcome the start of work to remove the remains of the old structure."
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Your Say YourArgus
scthetruth, Brighton says...
11:52am Tue 2 Feb 10
patchamgirl, hove says...
12:14pm Tue 2 Feb 10
Tambourine Man, E Sussex says...
12:47pm Tue 2 Feb 10
B****y compensation culture!
fascinator, Hove Actually says...
12:47pm Tue 2 Feb 10
lorj, Brighton says...
1:09pm Tue 2 Feb 10
wiltshire seagull, DEVIZES says...
1:28pm Tue 2 Feb 10
censored wrote:Yes indeed, a sad moment for me too. However, unlike many others, I failed to see any real beauty in the rusting stanchions & twisted metal. It does feel like a piece of my past being removed forever, though. What will happen to the main "Island" though? My daughter, (who still lives in Brighton) tells me it has become a Marine Reserve...........
Goodbye, old friend...
Surely not, Brighton says...
2:24pm Tue 2 Feb 10
gunnke, Craven Vale, Brighton says...
2:39pm Tue 2 Feb 10
1) Too expensive.
2) Too difficult.
3 Not the Council`s problem or responsibility.
Bennn, Kemptown, Brighton says...
3:36pm Tue 2 Feb 10
gunnke wrote:YOU think they are an eyesore, not everyone else. Just type "Brighton" into the search bar on Flickr or Google Images and you will find hundreds of pictures of the ruins of the West Pier. It looks beautiful at sunset or in the winter with all the starlings dancing round it. As the I360 or the Brighton O are never going to get built it is actually our "modern" landmark :-)
Forget the sentimental poppycock, the West Pier ruins are an eyesore and an embarrassment to the city of Brighton and Hove. After all these years, there is absolutely zilch chance of the West Pier being restored so BHCC should arrange for a full removal of the remnants of the West Pier. Being cynical, I very much doubt that this will happen as BHCC will cite the following reasons for this not being possible:- 1) Too expensive. 2) Too difficult. 3 Not the Council`s problem or responsibility.
Carlos Roa, Miranda de Ebro (Spain) says...
4:34pm Tue 2 Feb 10
miasc, Brighton says...
4:48pm Tue 2 Feb 10
Stripes, Brighton says...
4:52pm Tue 2 Feb 10
For Gawd's sake, tear the whole thing down and lets get on with life.
ArthurD, Horsham says...
6:06pm Tue 2 Feb 10
Do we have to rely upon the Victorians for everything (railways, sewers, piers!)?
Believe it or not there are places in the world that are actually developing instead of being nostalgic (e.g. Singapore, Dubai etc).
scthetruth, Brighton says...
6:25pm Tue 2 Feb 10
lorj wrote:The fact is that sunset over a derelict West Pier is not the "famous" image of Brighton at all.
How sad. I love the wreck of the West Pier. Obviously it'd be even better if they could bring it back, but still. Starlings and sunset over the West Pier are part of a famous image of Brighton.
The West Pier will always be remembered by Brightonians when it was open and used. To visitors the Royal Pavilion, Regency architecture and "one" working pier will always be the hallmark.
yorkie44, Woodingdean says...
8:33pm Tue 2 Feb 10
fascinator wrote:Unfortunately the wreckage she has created won't be so easy to remove.
it will be sad moment - unlike the removal of Mary Mears, which will be a happy moment
tribaleye, Hove says...
12:04am Wed 3 Feb 10
tribaleye, Hove says...
8:55am Wed 3 Feb 10
http://www.bbc.co.uk
/southerncounties/co
ntent/webcams/btn_se
afront_webcam.shtml
Mr. Kipling, Hove says...
11:25am Wed 3 Feb 10
In fact the fire did them a favour as did anyone think the wood would have been usable? No it saved the expense of removing it. Now the remaining skeleton can be removed they can either put it in store to use as patterns or sell it for and put the funds towards a rebuild or even a new pier that looks like the old one.
toldsloth, says...
1:28pm Wed 3 Feb 10
tribaleye wrote:er, no its not:
This webcam is currently pointed towards the action: http://www.bbc.co.uk /southerncounties/co ntent/webcams/btn_se afront_webcam.shtml
Last Updated: 22/01/2009 at 10:48
Like so much of Brighton - hasn't been updated in ages........
Personally I think they should put planning in to knock the lot down. Since "somebody" torched it, the chances of getting it restored ranked up there with my chances of getting elected as PM - ie; a fantasy. The amount of money that has been wasted on this process is nothing short of criminal.
tribaleye, Hove says...
1:46pm Wed 3 Feb 10
toldsloth wrote:... er, actually yes it is – I just checked and it is updating every 5 minutes. The webcam is usually directed at the Palace Pier. Put "Brighton Seafront webcam" into Google and follow the link for the same webcam view.
tribaleye wrote:er, no its not:
This webcam is currently pointed towards the action: http://www.bbc.co.uk /southerncounties/co ntent/webcams/btn_se afront_webcam.shtml
Last Updated: 22/01/2009 at 10:48
Like so much of Brighton - hasn't been updated in ages........
Personally I think they should put planning in to knock the lot down. Since "somebody" torched it, the chances of getting it restored ranked up there with my chances of getting elected as PM - ie; a fantasy. The amount of money that has been wasted on this process is nothing short of criminal.
Guess they'll put in a retrospective application if it is indeed apparent that they've broken the rules.
Kiersty, Brighton says...
3:31pm Wed 3 Feb 10
Ode to the i360.
You spin me right round, baby, right round, like a nauseous baby, right round round round,
wondering why you would try to hijack my town,
your glittering promise of tourist frolicks,
flashing the cash-in by fat cats funding their Dubai-crunched egos?
And the **** that depicts the nonsensical commerce,
a Pleasure Beach hauled South with a rainbow kiss?
A fabricated supposed constructive time-bomb,
yet to be splattered with greasy gull crap... take that!
Seagull John, Hove says...
9:31pm Wed 3 Feb 10
Justinfromwork, Brighton says...
10:26pm Wed 3 Feb 10
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censored, Brighton says...
11:26am Tue 2 Feb 10