Southport Pier closure over safety backed by surveys, council says

Southport Pier, the second longest in the country, has been shut since December

The decision to close a pier for safety reasons has been backed by two structural surveys which also found repair failures, a council has said.

At least £13m is needed for repair works on 163-year-old Southport Pier which was closed in December.

Sefton Council published the reports, which found several faults relating to work carried out in 2000, as it attempted to secure external funding.

"We are working hard to champion our pier," Councillor Marion Atkinson said.

She said work commissioned in 2000 was sub-standard and had left the structure flawed as the contractor had used the "wrong screws and wrong wood", as well as failing to renew the steelwork and fixings correctly.

'Major work'

Ms Atkinson said this had resulted in the failure of the coating system and corrosion of underlying steelwork.

The council, which has already borrowed £3m to replace wooden decking, said it won a case against the contractor but the company went into liquidation.

Ms Atkinson, who is Sefton Council's cabinet member for regeneration and skills, said the authority was now in "proactive discussions" with the government and other public sector agencies regarding funding although a solution is yet to be secured.

"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," she said.

"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."

Dr Anya Chapman of the National Pier Society (L) visited the pier this week

The pier has been visited by the National Pier Society, which is working with the authority to help find "an immediate and long term solution to its reopening and long term maintenance".

Dr Anya Chapman, from the society, said: "We recognise the challenges with Southport Pier and the unsustainable financial pressure this places on the council, a theme we are seeing elsewhere nationally.

"We are committed to supporting those custodians with the responsibilities of managing the past, present and futures of our piers."