Pier Group Pressure

Reader Tom writes:

Hi ECR. I saw an article in the Telegraph yesterday about how they've just spent £51m restoring the pier in Weston-super-Mare after it burnt down in 2008. Apparently it's got brand new attractions like a laser maze, a 4D cinema and an aerial assault course.

Contrast that with the Dreamland roller coaster burning down in 2008 leaving Margate with a car park, and the possibility of a few bob being spent by 2012 on some old rides that nobody under 60 will touch with a barge pole. Why Weston managed to attract the money for this lord knows.

Keep up the good work. Tom.

Well, er, thanks for that Tom. And really, having read the piece I'm still none the wiser as to where Weston-super-Mare (Weston-super-Mud in old money) got the moolah.

Speaking of wise spending, reader Brian has sent me his idea for Tory Cllr Wise's ten grand plan to repaint the lighthouse on the end of Margate Harbour Arm (Pier in old money). Brian says it's based on the official flag of Fannit and would be a fitting tribute to an upstanding member!

Pier Group Pressure

I see the British Urban Regeneration Association's annual Seaside Network conference is currently taking place in Scarborough.

Usually such news would provoke not much more than a yawn from yours truly, but this quote from Matthew Lock, Lead Member for Regeneration and Planning, Hastings Borough Council, caught my eye:

Hastings is pleased to support BURA with this new endeavour. Coastal communitites are starting to turn it around; we've achieved a lot here and want to shout about the change we are achieving but we also want to know more about how our peers are creating renewal. Collaboration with our colleagues around the coast, private and voluntary sector too, can be a further catalyst for change; a consolidated voice shouts a lot louder!

'Peers' and 'renewal' eh? Would this be the same Hastings Borough Council that has been so successful in preserving its heritage that last week it announced it might have to demolish its splendid Victorian pier because it's fallen into utter disrepair since they handed it over to the private sector?

I think we should be told!