David Kidney
Restoring the West Pier
David Lepper (right) meets former culture secretary Chris Smith in front of the West Pier
September 2004
I have always supported the aim of restoring the pier and welcomed the announcement of £14 million of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Of course the West Pier has always been privately owned and living in Bedford Square as Jeane and I did in the late Sixties and early Seventies, it was sad to see the West Pier's decline in the hands of its former owners.
Despite the serious storm and fire damage to the West Pier last year the hope remained that with the availability of Lottery Funding and private sector backing the Pier could be restored and saved.
Now that the Heritage Lottery Fund has withdrawn its offer and English Heritage has withdrawn its support I still hope that an alternative scheme to save the Pier in some form can be found.I continue to keep in touch with the West Pier Trust and Brighton and Hove City Council about ways to realise the aim of restoring the Pier.
I deplored the mean-minded legal challenge to the Lottery Funding by the Noble Organisation, owners of the Palace Pier.
Two lively and contrasting historic piers attracting visitors and residents could only be good for the city, enhancing our role as the UK's major seaside resort and providing jobs for local people.
