Southend Pier cultural centre hoisted into place

A new £3m cultural centre weighing 170 tonnes has been hoisted by crane on to the end of Southend Pier.

The 350 sq m (3,767 sq ft) steel structure was brought in by boat in one piece from Tilbury where it was built.

When completed in the summer, the centre will include a multi-purpose hall seating 185, artists' studios, a cafe and outdoor terrace.

The building was lowered at high tide on to the Grade II-listed pier at a speed of 2mm a minute.

The barge carrying the building began its overnight journey of about 17 miles (28km) from Tilbury on Wednesday afternoon, arriving at the coastal resort at about 09:00 BST.

The structure took about two-and-a-half hours to unload from the barge using a 400-tonne marine crane.

'Delicate operation'

The gentle lowering of the building was designed to mitigate against any damage to the pier's 100-year-old cast iron piles.

Original timber decking removed to make way for the structure has been reused as a plinth which the building will sit on.

The cultural centre is the first new building to be constructed on the pier head since 2000.

The cultural centre will sit on a plinth made of old decking

It is part of Southend Borough Council's refurbishment of the section which was destroyed by a fire in 2005.

The 1.3 mile (2km) structure is one of the longest pleasure piers in the world.

Conservative councillor Derek Jarvis said all involved were relieved the operation had gone as planned.

"I am thrilled to bits the lift went so well this morning," he said.

"It was a really delicate operation and so much was at stake, particularly as we had never been involved in anything like this before.

"We were concerned about the weather initially but the conditions stayed mild and the whole lift went like clockwork."

The centre will now be clad in its external skin and is due to open later in the summer.