Worthing Pier temporary closure
We have had to temporarily close Worthing Pier for the safety of the public while we carry out emergency repairs. This page has been created to give you a fuller picture of what is happening and why. We'll update it regularly so you always have the most up-to-date information about the situation. We are doing everything possible to get this unique and precious asset back into a safe state where people can enjoy it again.
What's happened
On 4th October 2024, our engineers identified that one of the iron piles that support Worthing Pier was damaged.
The pile was on the east side of the pier, just to the north of the southern pavilion. The middle of the pile had been broken, which we suspect was caused by a large piece of floating debris during severe weather.
Photo: Damage to Worthing Pier - the snapped pile before it was removed
Our contractors removed the damaged pile and since then we have been working on a plan to replace it, when the conditions are safe enough for us to do so.
Photo: Damage to Worthing Pier - the gap when the snapped pile had been removed
The advice we have received from independent structural engineering experts is that there is a risk to public safety if people are allowed to continue using the pier in its current condition. The safety of the public is our priority so we have therefore temporarily closed the pier while it can be made safe to use again.
We are requesting that no one walks beneath the pier at this time, in addition to any watercraft including boats and paddleboards. We've written to local fishermen and harbour authorities about this.
We carry out regular quarterly inspections of the pier and we believe this is the first time in more than 25 years that such an event has happened.
We're grateful for everyone's patience. We know how frustrating this is but as we've said, keeping everyone safe has to come first. We are doing everything possible to get the structure back into a safe state where people can enjoy it again.
What we've done
We brought in our pier substructure maintenance contractor as soon as we discovered the issue and also secured further advice from independent national engineering experts HOP Consulting about the structure, its safety and the required repairs. HOP Consulting has a good working knowledge of Worthing Pier, having carried out a comprehensive inspection for the council in 2018. HOP Consulting has also worked on a number of piers and similar structures around the country.
HOP Consulting sent us an interim report which made it clear that there was a risk to the public if we allowed the pier to remain fully open. The safety of the public is our priority so we therefore closed the pier on the evening of 9th October.
On 4th October we had alerted the businesses on the pier about the potential that we could need to close the pier on safety grounds, which we confirmed to them on 9th October. We had visited those businesses that were open on 8th October.
HOP Consulting has now submitted its full inspection report of its findings. In summary, the report confirms the need for the pier to be closed until it has been made safe.
We've given daily updates to our tenants on the pier since 7th October as we understand how damaging the closure is to their businesses. We're also continuing to explore how we could provide more assistance to them while they cannot operate as usual.
What is happening now and in the future
One of the biggest challenges is that the repair can only take place at a spring low tide, when the tide goes far enough out for us to do the work safely. The first such set of tides began on Tuesday 15th October and run until Sunday 21st October, so we have been trying, with our contractors and suppliers, to get the work done in this period.
Unfortunately the damage happened so close to that tidal window that our suppliers have been unable to get us the replacement pile we need in time. Instead, we are having an interim repair done to help the remaining piles to support the weight of the pier, so the strain on those piles can be mitigated as much as possible.
The next set of spring low tides does not begin until 14th November, which is the earliest we will be able to begin the full repair.
However at this time we are exploring whether there are other steps we could take that could potentially allow us to open the pier to at least a limited number of people, such as by finding a short-term way to reduce the strain on the section of the pier where the missing pile is.
Therefore, we're continuing to keep in contact with our tenants on the pier as well as the Worthing Lions. The Lions had been planning to run their annual fireworks display from the end of the pier on 5th November so we are liaising with the group to keep them updated in case the pier is still fully closed then.
Our teams are working hard with our contractors and suppliers to repair the structure, but as with any unique heritage asset, this is a dynamic situation as further investigations are continuing while work is being carried out.
Questions you might have
Q. How did the pier get damaged?
A. We believe one of the iron piles that supports the structure was damaged by a large piece of floating debris which has struck the pier during severe weather.
Q. When did it happen?
A. We suspect it happened in the days running up to 4th October 2024, during severe weather.
Q. How did you find out?
A. Our engineers carry out regular checks on the pier. On 4th October 2024 they identified that one of the iron piles that support the pier was damaged.
Q. Why has the pier had to close?
A. After we discovered the damage, we sought independent advice from national engineering experts HOP Consulting about the structure, its safety and the required repairs. That advice was clear that there was a risk to the public if we allowed the pier to remain fully open. We therefore closed the pier on the evening of 9th October.
Q. Could the pier collapse?
The advice that we have received does not suggest that any part of the pier structure is likely to fail in the near future. However, the absence of the damaged pile means that the weight of the pier is putting extra strain on the remaining piles, which increases the risk that one or more of those piles could be damaged. We are not willing to risk anyone's safety so the pier will remain closed until we are confident it can be used safely.
Q. What do you need to do to fix the issue?
A. We need to replace the damaged pile and to secure it to the piles that sit alongside it so that they together form a strong support for the pier. Unfortunately we cannot complete that repair until the next set of spring low tides from 14th November 2024, when the tide will go out far enough out for us to do the work safely.
In the meantime we are carrying out an interim repair to provide more support to the remaining piles and investigating whether there is a temporary solution that could allow us to open the pier before the full repair has taken place.
Q. When will the pier reopen?
A. At this stage we cannot be certain, although we are working as hard as possible to open it as soon as we can when it is safe to do so.
We're hopeful that we can find a temporary support solution that would allow us to reopen the pier to at least a limited number of people, but the safety of the public has to be our priority.
Q. What are you doing to help the businesses on the pier?
A. We understand how difficult this situation is for the businesses on the pier, especially the fact that we can't be certain when they will be open to operate as usual again. We're giving daily updates to our tenants on the pier and responding to their questions.
We're also exploring if there are ways that we could provide more assistance to them while they cannot operate as usual.
Q. How does this affect this year's fireworks event?
We've contacted the Worthing Lions to make them aware of the situation. We'll continue to keep in touch with the organisers and have offered them assistance so they can consider their options.
Q. How much maintenance do you do on the pier?
A. Our engineers carry out regular inspections of both the pier's decking and the substructure underneath.
The pier's timber decking is inspected every month. Timbers are replaced on a rotation basis, as sections reach the end of their 25-year lifespan. At the same time as this work is being done we also examine the substructure of the pier underneath and clean and repaint any trusses or deck beams to give them greater protection from the elements. If the trusses or deck beams are not in a good condition they are removed and replaced.
The substructure of the pier is inspected quarterly and any necessary repairs are carried out. The way we carry out these inspections was independently assessed in 2018 by HOP Consulting, which said that this approach was keeping the pier in a good overall condition.
There have been some inaccurate comments made on social media that have implied that we have reduced our maintenance of the pier. In fact, we have continued to increase the amount we spend on reactive maintenance for the pier over recent years.
Over the last two financial years (from April 2022 to March 2024) we have spent £450,531 on maintenance and repairs to the pier. By comparison, we spent £339,586 in total over the previous three years (from April 2019 to March 2022).
Q. How much is this going to cost the council to resolve?
A. Based on the information we currently have (as of 17th October 2024) we have a budget for repairs to the pier which will go towards the cost of the repairs needed. However we fully expect that the overall cost of the identified work will be in excess of £100,000, which we may need to find from our other budgets.
Page last updated: 17 October 2024