Hastings Pier, more on and of!

This weekend, 'Heritage Interpretation' volunteers and members of the Pier’s volunteer archive group have been on hand in The Deck’s new heritage space, the Memories Room, to assist visitors with the new exhibits and to share their knowledge of the history of Hastings Pier. To access the absorbing Charity's "Digital Memories" go to the website.

The wee shop downstairs in The Deck, and I already have my first keepsake, a china mug, from which I am currently sipping tea! There are also refreshments downstairs now...

And more seating, and now appropriate information panels, are appearing round the Pier.

And here are a couple of photographs, being shared on facebook, of the Madness concert at last week's Grand Opening ceremony, many thanks to whoever originally posted them!

That's all for now folks! 

I didn't make it in the evening!

I didn't make it to the Pier in the evening, though I did take a wander down there in the morning yesterday, and the weather forecast I saw wasn't very good, but Madness were! 

East Sussex Arts Club had their 2016 Exhibition a the Stade, and this continues until Wednesday 25th May (see their website for more details).

The Pier Opening Gala Celebrations!

So, today's the day, the official Grand Opening Gala Celebrations, and it appears all tickets have been sold; see the new website for further details.

So, unless you're lucky enough to have obtained tickets, access to the Pier will not be possible until tomorrow, Sunday, see the website for upcoming events.

And there's the stage, way down towards the end of the Pier, where there will be VIPs, DJs, and Madness, not to mention a 2,500 crowd! The weather forecast appears to be reasonable for most of the day, though, when Madness play, there may just be some rain, though the wind should have dropped by then...

Enjoy the day, whether on the Pier, beach, or elsewhere, happy days!

Madness gig at the pier is already sold out!

That'll teach me to take my time... the Madness gig, on the Grand Opening of the Pier Day, 21st May, is already sold out, bother! 

Oh well, I should be able to get on the pier next month...

Hastings Pier Construction Update

The end of the Pier Restoration is nigh! I have recently received correspondence from the charity that reflects upon the achievements of the last two years, which goes something like this... 

Around 70% of the high-level steelwork has been replaced, which took the form of 320 trusses and 850 deck beams. Over 400 new bull rails and nearly 700 sets of cross bracing have been installed.

In all some 3,000 tonnes of new steel has been fixed. In addition, all of the timber has been completely renewed. There are 50 miles of new deck boards fixed with half a million screws. The boards are built on 18 miles of joists fixed with 12,000 bolts; all 1,000 tonnes of Ekki timber is from 100% sustainable resources.

There have been many different companies involved with the Construction; the majority of these have been local organisations. FPE steelworkers and TimberCraft carpenters have formed the backbone of the labour force throughout. The other contractors and specialists have been here as needed to give a typical labour strength of 50-60 people. In all, though, over 400 people have worked on the Pier, and each has played a valuable part in getting it to where it is today. 

As there was only limited access before work started, knowledge of the structure was limited and, therefore, a lot of assumptions had to be made about the condition of the structure. In reality, things were worse than originally assumed, and more steelwork needed to be replaced.

Furthermore, poor weather conditions had to be contended with, in particular, damage caused to the structure by storms in February 2014. Even now, the weather is very influential; the constant high winds over the past six weeks have severely restricted operations at the Pier Head. Only the last twelve trusses still need to be installed, and a couple of calmer weeks will enable this work to be completed.

The Visitor Centre is near to completion inside, and outside the cladding with old deck boards is progressing well. The arena seating on the North end is now being constructed and the glass balustrade will shortly be fixed around the roof. Fitting of the Old Bandstand Pavilion for the new restaurant is underway. Everything is now in the final stages heading towards completion with a 'gala celebration' planned for May 2016, great stuff! 

See website for more information.