Southend Pier £14m upgrade 'a priority' for new council

At 1.3 miles (2.1km), Southend has the world's longest pleasure pier

The £14m redevelopment of the world's longest leisure pier is a "definite priority" with funding secured, the new leader of a council said.

Labour's Ian Gilbert said work on Southend Pier should take three years.

Plans for a new pavilion and upgrade of the pier railway were drawn up by the previous Conservative-run council.

Mr Gilbert said the pier was "exceptionally important" to the town's heritage and the new pavilion should be "fun and entertaining".

Romesh Ranganathan has been one of the many celebrity visitors to Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Doherty's television show which is filmed on the pier

Southend became a hung council in May when the Conservatives lost nine seats in the local elections.

Labour now leads the council, with the backing of Liberal Democrat and independent councillors. It is the first time the council has ever had a Labour administration.

The previous council had earmarked £10.5m to design and build a new pavilion and £3.25m to upgrade the ageing railway, but the fine detail had not been worked out.

Mr Gilbert said he wanted to re-examine proposals for the use of the pavilion to make sure they were right for Southend.

The pier had a major fire in 2005 and it reopened a year later

Southend Pier

• At 1.3 miles (2.1km), it is the world's longest pleasure pier

• The Grade II-listed structure dates from 1830 and has survived several fires, boat crashes and severe storms

• An electric tramway first opened in 1890 and, apart from a period in the 1970s and 1980s, trains have run along the pier ever since

• It was requisitioned by the Royal Navy during World War Two

• The Tea Rooms at the end of the pier have been used as a location for Channel 4's Friday Night Feast with Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Doherty since 2014

The building, which was closed after a fire in 2005, was used solely for the television set but opened to the public at Easter this year.

A spokesman for the council said a public consultation on detailed designs would happen later this year with worked expected to finish by 2022.

Watch a full report on BBC Sunday Politics East on 16 June 2019 on BBC1 starting at 11:00 BST.