Website for the Group seeking to restore the Pier:
http://www.colwynpier.org.uk/The Grade II listed Victoria Pier is one of only 31 surviving open-structure piers with iron columns in the UK. It has been at risk since the mid-1970s. In 2013 it was successfully awarded a £5m in-principle HLF grant with £594,000 to work up detailed plans. But Conwy Council chose not to accept the grant and are now trying to demolish it.
It’s not too late…
The columns are generally in good condition – no worse than the majority of piers around the country. Three independent engineers (Peter Wheeler, the engineer from Hastings Pier Charity, Nick Clarke of Ramboll, and Roger Speakman of FPE Group) have all challenged the council’s interpretation of the Datry’s reports. Their conclusion is “on the whole demolition would seem a waste of the pier” and “the loss of Colwyn would be of great significance”. Victoria Pier needs emergency works to prevent partial collapse and then a process of systematic repair.
Our plans are better than the original – more viable, less expensive, better social outcomes, and more commercially sustainable.
Imagine the future…
• the 1900 substructure is completely restored, creating a stable platform over the sea (£2.5m)
• a new building replaces the carbuncle at the pier entrance – a Health, Fitness & Beauty Centre that combines attractive offers to the general public with a wide range of training and qualification opportunities for local young people and those wanting to retrain later in life (£1.4m for core – fit-out by private investor)
• the 1933 Pavilion, an early example of art for the public, is stripped back and restored as a café-restaurant, prestige creative workspaces and public art platform, potentially drawing on the Fun Palace ideas of Joan Littlewood. The Ravilious and Adshead murals are too far gone to rescue but their heritage can be honoured by commissioning a new public art piece that reminds us of the importance of art to ordinary people (£3.8m)
• the deck is restored into a series of ‘tracks’ for walking, running, cycling, hurdles etc. Alongside these are a series of health-related concession stalls (smoothies, healthy foods, fitness retail, etc). Cutting-edge health technologies are integrated throughout to introduce the new digital health apps to a wider public.
• at the seaward end of the pier is a massive acrylic outdoor mirror that reflects the bay and the town, the sea and the light, and is something fun and interesting to cycle, run or walk towards. The acrylic could have other images and light shows projected onto it for special events.
• at night the pier is lit up with high-impact low-energy LED displays that attract people to evening activities such as roller discos, ‘zero to hero’ fight nights, fashion shows, and circus events
The new HLF bid sees the whole pier as an anchor to improve the HEALTH of the residents and visitors of the North Wales coast. The Health, Fitness & Beauty (HFB) Centre is a commercial opportunity offering (through partnership with Llandrillo College) significant LEARNING outcomes. The HFB Centre, the Pavilion and the concessions all offer opportunities for enterprise and employment that drive local PROSPERITY.