Life at seaside town with locals 'stuck in lockdown' as iconic pier remains shut
Sefton Council has defended its decision to close the iconic Southport Pier as it finally published its long-awaited survey on the landmark's condition last Thursday.
The council reported a wide range of damage along the historic 163-year-old Merseyside pier and concluded that it should remain closed until remedial works or replacement work can be carried out. But with eye-watering repair bills, there is currently no estimated reopening date.
Earlier this year in May, the Mirror took a visit to the pier and met with Colin Jamieson, who has run two businesses on the iconic structure for 20 years - and demanded all-important answers. Here, we heard of the devastation the continued closure meant for residents...
Walking along Southport pier, there is no one in sight. The only sound is of squawking seagulls swooping down from above and the waves of the tide slowly trying to come in. The ice-cream parlours are bolted shut and in the arcade, machines ring out tunes to an empty audience, creating an eerie atmosphere. Christmas decorations are left on the counter behind the bar in the cafe, while stock is half opened out of cardboard boxes on the floor.
The Southport Pier Pavilion, Merseyside, has been left abandoned in a mad dash like something out of an apocalypse film - and that's because the council ordered its closure last December on health and safety grounds. But months on, there is still no sign of when life can return to the remarkable pier, which is the country's second oldest.
'We can all strike back at Rich Rishi Sunak and vote Tories out'
Colin Jamieson is terrified for his family's future (Saffron Otter)I meet with Colin Jamieson, who has run two businesses there for 20 years. One is the railway train that usually travels the length of the pier, which runs for 1km, and the other is the cafe business - which hasn't been able to operate since they had to shut up shop two weeks before Christmas last year due to 'ice-damage'.
The 67-year-old is distraught, as he employs almost all of his family on the pier, and says it is like being in lockdown but without the financial support from the Government that he previously received during Covid. "Any company that isn't trading for six months, it's going to go bust and the staff are going to leave. It's terrifying, we have no income," he tells the Mirror. "The longer it goes on, it's going to kill our company. I'm using what is left in the bank to keep things afloat. I have two daughters, one is 42 and the other 35.
The pier was closed last December (Saffron Otter)"They have homes and kids to look after and they aren't earning any money. Everyone works for me, my son-in-law works for me, the whole family works for me. They're all suffering. No one wants to be seen as unethical and immoral. To do this to a company, to anyone, it's not right." Shaking his head as he struggles to comprehend what is happening, the dad-of-two adds: "I can't even find the words to describe it." According to Colin, Sefton Council told him to remove the train last June so they could repair some damaged timbre. Workmen set out replacing boards, and completed a full 50-foot stretch at one end.
Shutters drawn on Colin's cafe and arcade (Saffron Otter)He says that by last November, the work had stopped, and the following month, the council ordered a full closure citing weather damage. As per his tenancy agreement, he has to obey when it comes to health and safety. "We were closed without any warning whatsoever," he recalls. "This pier has been here 160 years now and it’s been rebuilt a few times along the way.
"It's had ice damage every year and this timber on it now has been down for 20 years. It has never caused any problems and it never will." He understands the council’s need to ensure the utmost safety, but Colin argues that it is safe and wishes to work with them to see new decking laid down in stages - like the work being done on neighbouring Blackpool pier, which can be spotted in the distance. Joining Colin for a walk along the pier, you can vividly see the toll it's taking on the businessman. He shows me the locked-up cafes, ice-cream van, inside his recently refurbished cafe and bar, and turns on the arcade machines for me after opening up the shutters.
They're in limbo waiting to see when they can reopen (Saffron Otter)As we're there, countless visitors walk up to the pier to only have to turn back around when they're confronted with the gates. When I point out that it's even making me feel sad to be alone on a usually bustling monument, which was visited by steamliners in its heyday and where Charlie Chaplin performed in the early 20th century, Colin admits that he finds it depressing to come and see his life’s work currently vacant.
"I've been in business for over 40 years and I’ve dealt with that much pressure in my life, it never bothers me," he says. "But since this has happened, I've had palpitations. I didn't like to admit it, but it's medically put me in a bad way. I'm waiting for a call to discuss a heart monitor with my GP.
The now empty arcade (Saffron Otter)"There is no plan for the future anymore. I'm being held off the end of the pier on a rope." The council say they are still awaiting survey results before any action can be taken with it being a complex job, but Colin argues it has taken far too long. They offered up another spot in town for him to operate but he says it wouldn't have been a profitable move. At the end of his tether, Colin has submitted a compensation claim. He estimates he will have lost out on roughly £600,000 turnover after the pier remained closed this summer. But it's not just the Jamieson family that are impacted, it's the whole town, he says, as 400,000 visitors would usually flock there for a walk during the summer months. "It's everything about the town for the people that come here," he states.
People say it is the main attraction of the seaside town (Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)"Every shop there at the end of the pier is losing out. Business owners are going mad about it. They're putting the town to death." Max Wright, the manager of Wright’s Diner, located on Nevill Street, says he has been affected by the ongoing situation.
"It's just a shame, isn't it?" the 28-year-old says. "It diverts people, they can't really get it to us so it is affecting us. You can't get to the beach easily anymore." A few stores down is Kim Paskin, of Southport Rock Shop. The 63-year-old says he has been met with disgruntled customers who share their aggravation when they discover the pier's closure. "We have people come from all over, coach trippers, and when they arrive they’re disappointed to see it's not open," he says. "The pier is massively important, it's one of the biggest attractions and it's better for everyone if it's open."
Train bursts into flames forcing passengers to run for their lives
It is "massively important" for the town and its people (Saffron Otter)One of those visitors is Dan, who wished not to disclose his surname, who is staying in the Pontins for four nights. From Doncaster, South Yorkshire, the 38-year-old has fond memories of visiting Southport as a child, with the pier a big part of it. "It looks strange being empty. We were gutted," Dan says. "I've been coming since I was a kid. I've always loved the pier. It was going to be the first thing we did when we arrived but then we realised it was closed.
"What's going on?" Aside from debate about the grand pier, which has taken over Facebook pages, another talking point of the seaside town is its sea, or lack of. A string of TripAdvisor comments from dissatisfied visitors complain that they couldn't find it, with one writing: "Does the tide ever come in? I can't find one picture of it even over the net." Another shared: "Beach is clean but where is the sea ?? We went to the end of the pier and still no sea."
Some visitors moan that you cannot always see the sea at Southport (Saffron Otter)While I could barely make it out when I first arrived late morning, local Terry O’Toole says I've got lucky, as it glides to the shore behind us. The 72-year-old walks along the strip, and usually the pier, three or four times a week. "It [the sea] is in now but you might not see it again for three weeks," he laughs. Like others I've heard from today, he echos the importance of the pier and its place at the centre of the town's identity. "It's the main thing in the town," Terry says. "It's the first place people head to and always have done. It looks like we're still in the pandemic now."
Terry, who loves to walk along the pier, likens the situation to lockdown (Saffron Otter)The pier was refurbished in 2002 at a cost of £7 million and a year later, it won the National Piers Society's prestigious "Pier of the Year" award. Ten years later, Sefton Council outlined £3m plans to replace the wooden beams - which added to a total distance of 63 miles. But in December 2022, damage was caused by freezing weather, which reportedly exposed the dire state of the historic structure, turning the renovation into what looks to be a much bigger project than they set out for it to be. Engineers advised the council to close it down, with structural surveys now taking place.
A spokesperson for Sefton Council said in May: "As previously stated, the survey being carried out on Southport Pier involves a thorough and intrusive assessment of the 3,600ft structure. Due to the detailed nature of this assessment and the complexity of Southport Pier's structure, the survey takes time to complete. However we will update both business owners directly and the public through our official communication channels as soon as possible. We appreciate this is a frustrating time for everyone but health and safety remains our priority."
Following the survey results this week, Cllr Marion Atkinson, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Skills, pointed to "poor workmanship" when the pier was restored in 2000 as contributing to problems seen today and said the authority has spent an average of £500k on its maintenance over the past six years, LancsLive reports.
She said: "As we all know you can patch up a car or a house with temporary repairs and fixes, but if the structure you’re maintaining is flawed, you are going to need some major work and that’s the point we have reached. The contractor in 2000 used the wrong screws and wrong wood as well as failing to renew the steelwork and fixings correctly resulting in the failure of the coating system and corrosion of the underlying steelwork shortly after reopening."
Cllr Atkinson admitted there is currently no proposal on how the repairs can be funded but the council says it is determined that the pier will reopen and continue to be a key attraction for the town. She said: “Looking forward, we have a clear plan for the more than £13 million of work that’s expected to be needed to take place, ready to start once funding is secured. Having been forced to find savings of approaching £250 million in the past decade or so as a result of Government funding cuts, we simply don’t have that kind of money.
“We have therefore been focused on proactive discussions with various Government departments and other public sector agencies about securing funding to re-open Southport Pier. We have not secured a solution at this time but we are working hard to champion our Pier, and to ensure that the project is ready to start once funding is secured.
She added: “During its 163 year history, Southport Pier has been closed on a number of occasions, due to damage from fires, storms, boat crashes and more. It is one of the last surviving piers in the country, with most of them now long since demolished and lost to history. As the pier’s custodians, we have repeatedly gone on record to say we are not prepared to consider the loss of the Pier and that we are committed to its future. We are making concerted efforts to achieve that, and I hope others will join us and start to work with us in a serious manner to help us achieve that goal.”
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
