Withernsea Pier and Promenade Association News
News Update July 2023: Repayment of funds in progress
Financial Director Rachel Larsen and steering group member Paul Martin sorting out letters to our members and donors.
The steel piles for the pier and other assets have been sold off, and our main funders have been repaid. We are now in the process of contacting nearly 600 people who have given money towards building the pier to offer them a refund. If you made a donation and we have your e-mail address on record, you should already have received an e-mail. If we do not have your e-mail address, or you have not replied to our e-mail we will send you a letter to your last know address. Rest assured the steering group and directors have not been paid for any of their work or received any financial benefit from this project. We are still solvent and will endeavour to repay everyone that supported the project.
News Update April 2023: End of the road for Withernsea Pier
Above is what would have been stage 1 of the new Withernsea Pier. Unfortunately there is now little chance of this ever becoming a reality.
The Withernsea Pier and Promenade Association was founded in 2016 with an aim to rebuild the pier in Withernsea. Several thousand hours of volunteer work has gone into completing public consultations and environmental reports, obtaining the marine license and the planning permission. Putting on dozens of fundraising events and applying for grants and donations.
In March 2021, after 5 years of work, we were so close to building the first stage of the pier. At that time the first stage was fully funded and we had contractors ready to start the work. Only 3 weeks before construction was due to commence, East Riding produced a list of further questions and queries about the plans which delayed the construction start by a year and cost us £7000 extra in architects fees to make largely insignificant changes to the design, and another £7000 to complete a detailed piling design despite us telling the council this was priced into the piling contract.
Having completed all the extra work required by the council, we were again ready to start construction in early May 2022. This time we really thought it would go ahead. The construction steel was ready, the contractors were ready, and we had the plant on site to start removing the rock armour. As the planning approval ran out on the 10th of May, we had to make a start by removing some of the rock armour. Again, East Riding council stopped us as they would not give us landlord consent to start the construction.
Over the winter we have looked for more funding and at ways to reduce the ever-increasing construction costs. Although there has been no new funding, we have found a way to simplify the design without affecting the overall appearance or safety of the structure. When we tried to submit an amendment to the plans last month, East Riding planning department informed us that despite us starting to remove the rock armour last year, that was not a start, and as a consequence the planning permission has now expired. As the project no longer has planning permission, we no longer fulfil the terms of the funding, and our two main funders will no longer fund the project.
We have been working on this for 7 years, put our hearts and souls into the project, and are now back to square one. We no longer have the funds to proceed, and the board and steering group members are fatigued by the endless battle with the council. It is therefore with great sadness that we have to admit that rebuilding the Withernsea Pier is no longer a viable option.
One of our success stories was the reopening of the now floodlit Pier Towers. Although the East Riding council licencing team put a stop to the vibrant trading stalls outside the pier towers, we still have stalls and a shop inside the south tower and our Coastal Change Observatory and other displays in the north tower. It would be sad if the towers again fall into darkness and disrepair, so if anyone is interested in taking over the running of the towers please get in touch.
We would like to thank the businesses, shops and residents of Withernsea that have supported us and helped us get as far as we did. We would also like to thank Withernsea Big Local, East Coast Communities Fund, Yorkshire Coast BID, HERCT, Withernsea Town Council and the other funders who believed that this was a worthwhile project to invest in. Thank you to Ruby Reds and all the other entertainers and musicians that have performed at our events, often completely free of charge. Finally, thank you to all the people who have given their time to support and promote the project and those who have served as steering group members and directors over the last 7 years.
On the 24th of April a resolution was proposed by the directors to cease trading and to wind up the Withernsea Pier and Promenade Association. This has now been approved by at least 75% of the members. The steel piling and other assets will be sold off so we can repay all our loans and pay back our funders and creditors. Bucket collections, membership fees and income from our fundraising events has already been spent on the planning stage of the project and cannot be repaid. However, we will be able to pay back all grants, donations and gifts specifically made for the construction phase of the pier. If you would like to reclaim the money you have donated towards the construction of the withernsea pier, please get in touch by e-mailing pier@withernsea1.co.uk by the 30th June. Any funds left after all claims have been settled will be donated to a suitable organisation according to our Articles and memorandum of association.
News Update September 2022
Withernsea Scouts visit the coastal change observatory at Pier Towers to learn about coastal erosion along the Holderness coast.
Having successfully purchased the steel piles at a considerable discount in April, we were all set for the contractors to start work this autumn. However, our favoured piling contractor has been taken over by a multinational. While the two companies are merging, this contractor has put on hold a start on any new work. Additionally, the energy crisis that faces us all has had a very serious impact on energy intensive industries such as steel. In the light of these factors, we now have a financial shortfall again. We are seeking another piling contractor, but all contactors currently have a considerable workload. Hopefully, the WPPA will overcome these new challenges, but it will take time, and in the light of these developments, work cannot start on the viewing platform in the near future.
News Update July 2022
Please visit our shop and information centre in the Pier Towers. The Towers are open every weekend from 10am until 4pm. We have ice-cream, slush, sweets, chocolates, crisps and cold drinks. We also have a selection of souvenirs, postcards, leaflets and information about the local area. All profits go towards the fundraising efforts for the new Withernsea Pier.
Back by popular demand, we are again opening up the south tower for stall holders to hire our market stalls from £6 to £12 per day. Due to licensing issues with east riding council, we are no longer able to hire out the market carts for selling items outside the towers, but the carts can still be used for displays as long as all sales take place inside the towers. We have made the sweets/market carts available for hire at your events. Great for weddings and christenings. We have 2 available both in pink at £50 per day or £85 for 2 days. They dismantle to fit in the back of most cars by removing the posts and top from the base. If you would like to hire a stall or cart, contact us by email on pier@withernsea1.co.uk or by calling 01964 615430.
News Update June 2022
As we go into the summer season, many groups, families and other visitors come to Withernsea for a bit of the seaside and to have their picture taken at one of our landmarks. Among our visitors this month was The Hull Savoyards, an amateur Operatic society, who were here in costume to promote their performance of the Pirates of Penzance. The show is on at Middleton Hall, Hull (16th & 17th June) and Cottingham Civic Hall (25th June). All shows 7:30pm. The WPPA would like to invite them back in September when the first stage is completed, to perform some live songs from their shows on the new pier.
As part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the Withernsea Pier and Promenade Association have organized a flypast of two Second World War planes.
Saturday 4th June approximately 13:50 hours...........Hawker Hurricane .....Pilot: Group Captain Matt Peterson
Sunday 5th June approximately 15:10 hours.........Supermarine Spitfire .....Pilot: Squadron Leader Mark Long
We have received communication from Group Captain Matt Peterson who is the Hurricane pilot advising that both the Hurricane on Saturday and the Spitfire on Sunday will be approaching the Pier Towers from the west at a speed of around 200 mph and a height of 250 feet They will be travelling easterly from Station Road, over Queen Street and straight towards the towers and out to sea, right or left turns will bring them around and they will do two flypasts along the beach at the same height.
They have specifically requested that there are no drones or balloon releases whilst they are in the area for safety reasons.
We aim to have the towers open from Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th June for the jubilee weekend celebrations. The Pier Towers are normally open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am til 4pm. Please pop in for your souvenirs, cold drinks and ice-cream or just to show your support for the Withernsea Pier Project.
News Update May 2022
Major breakthrough in the project as WPPA officially starts the construction of the first stage of the new Withernsea pier.
With only days left until the planning approval for the project was due to expire, the Withernsea Pier and Promenade Association (WPPA) have at last commenced the construction stage of the project by removing rock armour down to clay level to set the datum point for one of the piles.
A reminder from East Riding Council confirmed that our planning approval would expire on the 15th May 2022. If we did not start construction by then it would have been the end of the pier project. Intense activity and countless meetings with our funders, construction partners and local authorities have taken place over the last few months. Our Chair and Vice Chair have been in negotiations with the county council and a lease agreement for the viewing platform has been signed. There are now only minor issues to finalize to get landlord consent, and it is hoped this will be resolved in the coming weeks. Due to council restrictions on operating heavy machinery on the beach during the summer season, the construction will recommence in early September.
With rising construction costs, and steel prices doubling since the original estimates three years ago, it looked like there would be a substantial shortfall in funding. A major breakthrough happened when the association approached Thirsk firm Cleveland Steel & Tubes Ltd. The steel manufacturer has agreed to offer a substantial discount on the price of their piling steel, to help start the project. This generous offer has got the project back on track. Paul Thornton, chair of the association, said that without the firm’s help “we would probably be sunk”.
We are also working with Humber Excavations who have been very responsive to help with the removal of the rock armour, and we are working closely with our primary contractor, UK Industrial services Ltd, to continue the construction phase of the viewing platform.
A big step forward was made a few weeks ago when Ørsted's East Coast Communities Fund released the promised £38,618 funding for the project. A few weeks later Local Trust followed suit and agreed that Withernsea Big Local could also release their funding of £150,000. With the £70,000 the Withernsea Pier and Promenade Association have raised towards the project, we now have the money in the bank to get started.
The order for the piles has been placed with Cleveland Steel & Tubes Ltd and the first instalment of the grant has been made by Local Trust. The next step will be to place orders for the rest of the construction materials and finalize the construction schedule with our contractors.
After 6 years and thousands of volunteer hours working on the Withernsea Pier project, we are delighted that this milestone has been reached. Thank you to everyone involved in the WPPA, the local residents and ward councillors, and the shops and businesses that have supported us and got us to where we are today.
News Update March 2022
Having submitted our detailed piling design in January, we have been working with East Riding Council's consultants to get the design approved. East Riding Council say they are now close to approving our first stage of construction with only a few minor issues still to address. This means we should have their landlord consent to start construction very soon. We have also been consulting with contractors and materials suppliers to get the best price possible in these difficult times and try to bring the costs in close to our budget.
Pier Towers will be opened whenever possible throughout the season, with the North Tower being staffed by volunteers, with new Merchandise available. The South Tower has been reviewed. We plan to open it as a Retail Outlet, providing refreshments, ice-creams, and beach items for sale. To that end we are currently advertising positions, providing employment within the town. We will be arranging a number of events in and around the Pier Towers for the coming season.
Much of the work carried out by the Steering Group tends to be unnoticed, as we try to follow up fresh leads for Grants, approach businesses to be involved, and raise the profile of Withernsea, and the surrounding areas as a destination for visitors. We welcome more people who wish to become involved with us. If you would like to join our comittee or become a volunteer and help out at the towers this summer, please get in touch.
News Update January 2022
Plans for the piling design have been drawn up. It is now a matter for the ERYC to peruse them, and agree to the design, in order for them to be able to give Landlord’s permission for the build to go ahead. Red tape is notoriously slow, but this is all down to due diligence and ensuring that any structure built will not only complement the Promenade and the town of Withernsea, but also be a viable and stable structure, to be enjoyed for generations to come.
After six years of leading the WPPA, Torkel Larsen has stepped down as Chairman, with the Vice-Chairman Paul Thornton taking the reins in the interim, leading us on into what will hopefully be the next phase of the Viewing Platform in Withernsea. As we progress forward, positions on the Steering Group and Committee will always become vacant, voted on when coming up for review at the Annual General Meeting, so the recent article in the Holderness Gazette on 13/2/2022 may have given the wrong impression of the current situation. As the project develops, positions on the Committee and Steering Group rotate, as in order to drive forward change it is important to ensure the interests of the Withernsea community are widely represented.
The WPPA is always looking for people to step forward and share in the shaping of the future of the Pier Project, and nominations are always welcomed for the positions of Chairman, Vice-Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary. All of those involved with the WPPA are volunteers, giving their time freely for the benefit of the future of the town.
After all the hard work and many hours spent driving the project from the front, Torkel is now stepping aside in order to allow him to pursue other interests, as well as to focus on family and other matters. He is still part of the Steering Group, and remains a Director of the WPPA. The WPPA members wish to thank him for his vision, his drive, and all of his sterling work in achieving so much on the project, in such a relatively small time.
Going forward, finding funding still remains a high priority, but at this point in time, the WPPA will be able to meet the basic cost of construction for the Viewing Platform, bar any unforeseen overheads which may occur plus any delays in having the Landlord’s Permission received in time for works to commence in March of this year. If the timing is right, then the build could commence by April 2022, but everything has to be right, to be sound, in both construction and longevity.
News Update June 2021
Graham Stuart, MP for Beverley and Holderness, was joined by South East Holderness Ward Councillors Lyn Healing and Claire Holmes, along with Withernsea Town Mayor Councillor Felicity Walmsley, to hear from the Chair and members of the Withernsea Pier and Promenade Association (WPPA) about their plans to restore Withernsea’s seafront to its former Victorian glory. The group, which was formed back in 2016, has plans to construct a 400-foot pier, which would extend into the North Sea from the town’s iconic Pier Towers. It is proposed that construction would take place in four stages in order to make the project more feasible and affordable, with the first stage comprising of a viewing platform hosting stalls and sea-facing benches for residents and tourists to enjoy.
Friday’s meeting followed the news that East Riding of Yorkshire Council has indicated that it could issue landlord consent for the works to go ahead, on the condition that more information is provided by the group on how the pier’s supporting piles would penetrate the seabed among other engineering concerns.
News Update April 2021
Having successfully raised the necessary funding for the project earlier this year, work was due to start on the Withernsea Pier viewing platform on March 29th. Unfortunately, this has not been able to go forward, as last month East Riding of Yorkshire Council raised a number of additional questions on the plans submitted for planning, and approved in May 2019. This list of queries has been forwarded to the architects and engineers involved, who will, it is hoped, clarify in the coming weeks the points highlighted by the council.
However, the delay has had implications for the proposed cost of the project. The pandemic has naturally slowed down all communication and decision making processes with third parties, and this delay is now having an impact on the fixed price quote of 2019. We await a new quote from the construction company, but we are led to believe that there will be a considerable increase in costs. Until we receive an updated figure for the construction, and have the information to provide a satisfactory response to the Council’s technical questions, we are unable to commence the preliminary work on the viewing platform.
Disappointing as this is to all who have been so supportive of this vision, we only see this as a deferment to the start of the work. However, the prospect of increased costs will mean that the fund raising era is not yet quite over. Be assured that the committee of the Withernsea Pier and Promenade Association will endeavour to do all that they can to get the project back on track as soon as possible.
On a more positive note, There will be a programme, called ‘Walking the Plank’, about the Withernsea pier project on BBC Radio 4 on Monday 19th April at 8pm and repeated Wednesday 21st April at 11am. It will then be on BBC Sounds. Further good news, the Withernsea Pier Towers and the Coastal Change Observatory will be opening for the new season on Saturday, April 17th.
News Update March 2021
We are still working with East Riding Council to resolve any outstanding issues with the building and lease agreement to enable them to give us landlord consent for the build.
This will involve at least a months work by our design engineer at Alan Wood to adress the latest 67 questions and queries about the drawings.
There are still other issues like street licencing that need to be resolved. We cannot get a building and lease agreement until all issues have been resolved with the council.
Without the building and lease agreement, we have been unable to sign the fixed price construction contract with our main contractor, UKI. Without a signed contract, we were unable to make the first payment for ordering materials which was due by the end of February. Due to the delays, UKI have put all ordering of materials for the build on hold for now.
The original quote for construction from UKI was from October 2019. They have now informed us they are unable to hold the price at the original quote, due to increasing cost of materials and increased costs from subcontractors. The WPPA are awaiting a new quote, and will evaluate the situation once the new cost for construction has been determined.
News Update January 2021
WITHERNSEA PIER STAGE 1 NOW FULLY FUNDED, CONSTRUCTION START IS IMMINENT
Following a grant offer of £125,000 from Withernsea Big Local almost exactly a year ago, The Withernsea Pier and Promenade Association have been working hard to secure the rest of the funding to build the first stage of the new Withernsea Pier.
Sales from the newly opened Pier Towers souvenirs shop, along with selling commemorative plaques and some very generous donations from the public have got us to within £25,000 of being able to start construction.
Withernsea Big Local have just informed us they are increasing their grant offer to £150,000 with an additional £10,000 as a contingency. Along with a grant from the East Coast Communities fund, donations, and our own fundraising, the first stage of construction, the Viewing Platform, is now fully funded.
Withernsea Big Local is one of 150 areas across England each awarded £1m over a 10-year period, to develop resident-led investment programmes to achieve lasting change. Big Local funding originated from the National Lottery and is administered by a Local Trust. The award was made under the local Investing in Withernsea Programme which started in 2015 and which has supported the Pier project from the outset.
The Pier Association went out to competitive tender for construction of the Viewing Platform in 2019. We are pleased to announce that our main contractor will be UK Industrial Services (UKI) based near Manchester. UKI has the experience and capabilities to deliver marine and coastal engineering works across the UK. They have an in-house team of specialists who deliver world-class solutions in these environments.
A Marine Licence and Planning Approval for the construction have already been obtained. We have agreed heads of terms for a lease agreement with East Riding of Yorkshire Council for the land, and are just waiting for them to produce the final lease agreement. With the funding now in place, we hope to start the construction work by the end of March, with the Viewing Platform being opened to the public ready for this summer season.
News Update November 2020
2020 has been an eventful year despite all events being cancelled. Even though the first lockdown forced us to cancel the planned opening ceremony of the Pier Towers in the Spring, work still carried on with fundraising and admin work behind the scenes.
We have installed two bench seats outside the Towers, one kindly donated by Lisa Dawson, and the other by the Withernsea Lions. Visitors can sit and relax and look along the length of the Promenade, a delightful spot on a sunny day! Thanks to funding from the Yorkshire Coast Bid, we now have eco-friendly colour changing LED floodlights to illuminate the Towers. During the dark winter nights these enhance this landmark for visitors and locals alike. The next step will be to secure funding for solar arrays on the roof to provide clean energy.
With the help of fantastic volunteers we were able to open the Pier Towers for trade from June 15th every day till October. During October we were still open every weekend, and visitors were able to come in and see the array of souvenirs available, as well as all the different displays. The South Tower also had three stalls open for different local vendors throughout, as well as a further two stalls outside. Sadly we have now closed the Towers completely due to Lockdown 2, but will open again next year.
Two recent very generous donations of £10,000 each have pushed us over the £200,000 mark in raising the necessary funds for the build of the first stage of the Pier, and we now only need another £41,000 to start construction. All required permissions have been granted, so if we can secure the rest of the funding, we aim to start construction in March and plan to open ready for next summer season.
The WPPA would like to thank all our members, volunteers, stall holders and visitors for their support in 2020 and welcome everyone back in 2021.
News Update July 2020
Pier Towers, the gateway to the original Withernsea Pier, are now open seven days a week from 10am to 4pm until the end of the summer season. There is lots to see inside:
- Plans for the new Withernsea Pier
- Coastal change display looking at our ever-changing coastline, coastal erosion and sea defences
- Windmills of Holderness
- Yorkshire
Birdlife with bird spotting guide
- Walking Withernsea, 5 different routes to explore in and around Withernsea
- Historic Withernsea slide show, over 150 pictures of old Withernsea
- Picture gallery
- Arts and crafts stalls
- Souvenirs and postcards
- General Information about Withernsea and the surrounding area
As we are now finally able to start trading, we have registered for VAT. This means we can reclaim VAT on the construction costs. So the total cost of stage 1, the Viewing platform has just gone down from £300,000 to £250,000. Including provisional funding, we have £185,000 towards the construction cost, and now only need to get another £65,000 before we can start construction.
News Update June 2020
As part of the easing of lockdown restrictions, The Withernsea Pier and Promenade Association are pleased to announce that we will be opening up Pier Towers to the public from Monday 15th June. The reopening of the towers after many years of standing disused is an important step in the long-term plans to re build the Withernsea Pier, as the Towers were the gateway to the original pier completed in 1877.
We successfully applied for a grant from Yorkshire BID who have awarded us £3,879 to pay for 4 market stalls and two market carts depicted below. The funding also covers the costs of the coastal change exhibition which will be displayed in the north tower and floodlights to light up the towers at night. We are most grateful to Yorkshire BID for supporting this project.
Stalls are available to hire at an introductory offer of only £5 per day until the end of June, and these can be booked by completing our hire agreement, available to download here, and to email to us or drop off at pier towers when they are open. Bookings will be done on a first come first served basis. In order to maintain social distancing, a maximum of 3 people will be allowed in each tower at any one time.
News Update March 2020
We now have a 99 Year Lease of Pier Towers and we have Planning approval to Use Pier Towers to form an exhibition area with tourist information, retail stalls and associated public seating and installation of replacement flood lights and roof-mounted solar panels. This is a major milestone as we can now bring this iconic Withernsea landmak back into use.
Sadly due to the current Corona virus situation, the grand Easter Opening Event will have to be postponed until further notice. We will continue to get things ready as best we can and the opening of the Towers will take place as soon as it's safe to do so.
News Update January 2020
The Withernsea Pier and Promenade Association is delighted to announce that we have received a grant offer of £125,000 from Withernsea Big Local towards the construction of the first stage of the Withernsea Pier, the Viewing Platform. Withernsea Big Local is one of 150 areas across England each awarded £1m over a 10-year period, to develop resident led investment programmes to achieve lasting change. Big Local funding originated from the National Lottery and is administered by Local Trust. The award was made under the local Investing in Withernsea Programme which started in 2015, and which has supported the Pier project from the outset.
The Pier Association went out to competitive tender for construction of the Viewing Platform in 2019. We have establishing that the total cost of constructing will be just under £300,000. With a grant from the Harold Bowler Foundation, funding from Withernsea Town Council, funding from Ørsted’s East Coast Community Fund, the new funding from Withernsea Big Local and funds from our own fundraising activities, the total funds raised now stands at £185,000. This means we only need another £115,000 to build the first stage of the Pier.
Significant progress has been made with Pier Towers, the gateway to the original Withernsea Pier. The Pier Association finally obtained a long-term lease agreement form East Riding Council this January after nearly 12 months of negotiations. We have recently submitted a Change of Use Planning Application to bring the Pier Towers back into use, which will then enable us to further promote the building of the Pier.
We will have three market stalls in the South tower, supplemented with three further pop-up stalls outside providing an outlet for local crafts and interested businesses. Anyone can hire these stalls on a daily or weekly basis. If you are interested in a stall, please fill in an expression of interest form which can be found here.
The North tower will be an exhibition space housing permanent and temporary displays:
It will feature a Coastal Change Observatory looking at the ever-changing coast, coastal erosion, impact of sea defences, long shore drift, the formation of Spurn Point and the Lost Villages of Holderness.
A renewable energy display will promote the use of renewable energy, such as wind, solar power, tidal and wave power with links to our local offshore windfarms. The towers will also be used for tourist information and exhibitions on local history, wildlife and displays from other local groups and organisations.
We will be holding an opening event over the 2020 Easter Weekend. There will be live music and entertainment with an opening ceremony of the Pier Towers taking place on Sunday 12th April at 6.00pm.
News Update October 2019
Some great news: The provisional funding from the East Coast Communities Fund which was due to expire on the 4th October has now been extended until March 2020. This gives the WPPA some extra time to find match funding from other sources. We have recently applied to the National Lottery Heritage Fund and also submitted an application to Power To Change. RDPE have confirmed they will have another round of funding, and we will be resubmitting our bid to them when that round opens up shortly. Withernsea Big Local have also confirmed their commitment to the project stating that "The Pier project is of high importance to Withernsea, and we will contribute to enable the project to go ahead"
Local support is still strong for the project with new members signing up, new sponsors, and local groups and businesses helping with fundraising. The Withernsea Scarecrow Trail raised an amazing £400 for the pier. Well done to Kelly and her team for a great event, we hope it will be repeated next year. We would also like to thank the Withernsea branch of the RAOB for their generous donation of £200. The raffle for a 2 hour tattoo session donated by Martyn Wheal Tattooist raised £203. The winning ticket was Yellow 190 drawn at the Old Boat Shed on Thursday 10th October.
We had a positive meeting with East Riding of Yorkshire Council to discuss the lease of Pier Towers and are hopefull that the lease arrangements will be in place for us to open up the Pier Towers by Easter next year. If you are interested in having a stall at the towers please get in touch.
News Update August 2019
Unfortunately the RDPE (Rural Development Programme for England) did not approve our recent funding application. This would have been substantial in covering the cost of construction for the First Stage, the Viewing Platform leading out over the beach from the Pier Towers on the Promenade. This also means we will not receive the earlier match funding from the ECCF (East Coast Communities Fund) and associated promises of amounts to cover any funding shortfall.
Whilst this can be seen as a setback, it is worth noting we still have Planning Permission to build the first stage, the Marine Licence which allows us to construct out over the beach, as well as all the technical drawings, and the tenders so far received for construction, so it can be seen as a hurdle, but one which can be overcome with patience and measure. With the experiences of applying for funding, we will continue to explore other avenues, be it an individual Benefactor/Business willing to fund the project, or via further applications for funding. The majority of local businesses have supported the WPPA, but we also need the involvement of the large chain stores in the town as well. The Pier Project will benefit all businesses in the town.
Having gone out to tender, and obtained quotes for the construction, we are confident that the Viewing Platform can be achieved for about £300,000. Fundraising and planning for construction works still carry on, with a number of events planned, and renewed efforts to find a new main sponsor of the project. In order for us to succeed in delivering the Pier Project, which will complement existing attractions, and make Withernsea a noted destination for tourism, we do need to have more people on the Steering Group/Committee, more volunteers to assist with events, and the ERYC being a more enabling partner, along with support from big businesses.
We had a stall and tombola at the recent Withstok music festival and raised another £280 for the Pier Project.
News Update July 2019
Oliver and Benjamin setting off on their 1200mile sponsored bike ride from Dover to Oslo. Benjamin managed to cycle the full distance, while the rest of the family took it in turnes to cycle with him. We also reached our goal of raising £1,200 for the Pier. Thank you to everyone who showed their support by sponsoring us.
News Update June 2019
It's been a good month for the Withernsea Pier and Promenade Association with us getting Planning Approval for the first stage of construction, and finally agreeing on the terms for the building and lease agreement with East Riding of Yorkshire council. Along with obtaining the Marine License in April, everything is now in place as far as permissions are concerned.
With our own funds along with a provisional grant of £38,618 from Ørsted’s East Coast Community Fund, £6,000 from the Harold Bowler Foundation and £3,500 from Withernsea Town Council we have reached the required match funding needed to apply for a grant from the Rural Development Program for England. The full application for approximately £180,000 was submitted end of May. We now have a six to eight week wait to see if our application is successful.
Hodson Architects and Alan Wood & Partners have completed the detailed design work and drawings for construction of the Viewing Platform. We had to make some changes to the substructure to make sure the platform would be structually stable in the harsh winter weather. The construction work is currently out to tender. If we obtain the necessary funding, the contracts will be awarded in July with a plan to start construction in September or October this year.
News Update May 2019
Refurbishment of the Pier Towers is now nearing completion. The damaged windowsills have all been replaced, broken windows repaired, and the leaking roof has been fixed. Some of the pointing between the bricks was in a very poor state, and is being repointed using a suitable lime-based mortar. The insides have also been refurbished with newly painted walls and new lino flooring to replace the old carpet tiles.
The scaffolding will be coming down middle of May, and the work is due to be completed by the end of the month.
Once completed, the towers will be transferred over from ERYC to the WPPA as a community asset. We are looking forward to bringing the towers back into use after many years of standing empty. We are planning to have a history display of Withernsea showing what the town looked like in the past including the original Withernsea Pier. There will also be a display showing our plans for the new pier. In addition, there will be information about renewable energy, use of solar and wind power and the impact of the large wind turbines seen on the horizon. We will have information about local attractions and general information for tourists.
There will be an opportunity for local traders to use the towers, and eventually the Viewing Platform for pop up stalls throughout the tourist season. If you are interested in this opportunity, please download our Expression of interest form and return it to the Pier Association.
News Update April 2019
Fundraising for the Withernsea Pier has just received a major boost from Ørsted’s East Coast Community Fund. The Pier Association (WPPA) applied for funding in January and have just been provisionally awarded a grant of £38,618 towards building the first stage which will be a large viewing platform extending out from the Pier Towers.
The WPPA are delighted that the funders have found our project worthy. We have been working on this project for over three years, raising just over £31,000 so far. This means that a grant from Ørsted’s East Coast Community Fund would more than double our total funds raised to date to nearly £70,000. It’s a fantastic boost to everyone at the Withernsea Pier and Promenade Association who are working so hard for this, and all our volunteers and sponsors who are supporting our project.
So far, we have spent most of the money raised on various reports and studies, licensing fees, planning fees, architect and design engineer fees. The grant from Ørsted’s Community Fund will go towards the actual construction costs.
To cover the rest of the construction costs, the WPPA have applied for £185,000 from the Rural Development Program for England. We are at stage two of the application process and are progressing well in satisfying all the requirements of the funders. One of the major requirements was that we have at least 20% of the estimated £225,000 needed for construction. The grant from Ørsted’s Community Fund has brought us a lot closer, and we are now only about £3,500 short of achieving this goal.
We are progressing well with all the other pre-construction requirements. The Marine Licence was issued on the 15/4/2019 and is one of the main requirements for the project. The planning application is moving forward and is now out for consultation and an agreement has been reached with East Riding of Yorkshire Council on the building and lease of the land.
This should put us in a very good position, and if we get the remaining funding we are applying for, we will be starting construction this September with an aim to be open to the public next summer.
If you would like to support us, please download our sponsor pack from our funding page.
News Update November 2018
A number of fundraising events have taken place this autumn. We had a live concert at the Golf Club, one at The Northfield and one at the Ozone Club. All three events featured great artists who performed free of charge to help raise over £600 for the pier. Andrea Burns and friends put on a Halloween Evening at the Northfield, and the Pier Hotel arranged a Pier Spooktacular event which raised an impressive £947.
Total funds raised for the WPPA as of 6th November 2018 now stands at £20,203.
At the end of October, we submitted our application to the Marine Management Organisation for a Marine Licence. This is one of the requirements to enable us to build on land which is in the sea at high tide.
We are also making progress towards a building agreement and lease with East Riding Council with a draft version now being considered.
Planning permission is also progressing well with our flood risk assessment done and an impact report nearly completed.
The WPPA have put in a bid to the Coastal Revival Fund to pay for a structural engineer and architect to develop technical drawings and costings to stage 4 of RIBA plan of works. This work will enable the WPPA to be ready for construction when sufficient funds have been obtained. We are still waiting for a decision to our application.
We applied to the Coastal Communities Fund Round 5 for funding for the first stage of the Pier. Unfortunately, this has been unsuccessful due to the high level of competition. This year the Fund received a total of 285 Stage 1 applications worth £246 million; however, they only had a budget of approximately £40 million to spend.
We submitted an expression of interest to the Rural Development Program for England (RDPE) early in 2018. Our EOI was endorsed and we were invited to submit a full application for funding for the first stage of the Withernsea Pier. The full application has a number of tough requirements, but if we succeed it will pay for most of the £200,000 cost of the first stage. One of the biggest hurdles is that we have to have at least 20% match funding which is £40,000 so we need to find a large sponsor quickly. Even if we don’t meet the requirements for funding this time round, we are steadily working through all the requirements so that we will be ready for the next round of funding.
News Update September 2018
We had a stall at the 3 day Withfest event. There was a lot of interest in our Pier Project and Victorian Bathing Machines which were used to display our sponsors and the latest plans and drawings of the pier. We also had a tombola and raised over £200 for the Pier.
Ruby Reds concluded their Bring Back Our Pier tour with a fabulous show at the Northfield and presented the WPPA with a cheque for £1,601.80p. A great result thanks to all the hard work by the Ruby Reds.
We received a reply from East Riding Planning office to our pre-planning enquiry in August. The main requirements were for us to:
- Consider the impact on coastal processes and maintenance of existing coastal defences
- Apply for Marine licence from the MMO
- Submit a flood risk assessment
The reply concludes that the proposed pier plans could be supported subject to the above matters being addressed. It will obviously still have to go through the full planning application process.
A proposed building agreement and lease was received from ERYC on the 16th August 2018. Some points need clarifying and further discussions will be held to come to a final agreement. The proposed agreement will assist us to secure the necessary funding for stage 1.
The summer was also a good time to bring on more sponsors and new members. The total now stands at 105 Sponsors and 106 members.
All our sponsors are listed on our sponsors page.
We have a number of events booked for this autumn. All events are free.
Friday 14th September 8.00pm Music Concert at Withernsea Golf Club with James Danby, Work in progress and Ric & Lou's loudhailer.
Friday 28th September Music Concert at the Northfield with Stuart Dainty, Carry Martin and The larks.
Friday 26th October Live music at the Ozone Club with Helen & Nick Stubbs and the Aldborough Cowboys.
Saturday 3rd November Halloween evening at the Northfield by Andrea Burns & Alison.
For more information please visit our Facebook page.
News Update June 2018
Architect Robert Blundell from 3xa Design has produced some faboulus drawings of our new pier. We will use these drawings when we submit our pre-planning application to ERYC this week.
The Ruby Reds are doing a great job raising money for the Pier with their Bring back our Pier Tour. They have already had sucessfull performances in Withernsea, Keyingham and Sproatley. Next shows are:
Friday 29th June 7.30pm at Cleveland Club in Hull
Saturday 30th June 7pm Skipsea Village Hall
Friday 6th July at Khardomah 94 in Hull
Friday 13th July 7.30pm at the Floral Hall in Hornsea
We attended the official Withernsea Pavement Fountain opening event in May and will be at Withfest from the 3rd to 5th of August. Look out for our Victorian Bathing Machines and come over to have a chat and see our latest plans.
News Update April 2018
Our recent Comedy Night at Shores was a sell-out success, raising over £200 towards the Withernsea Pier Fund. We also had our first free concert at Captain Williams raising another £133.
WPPA are pleased to announce that we have teamed up with the Ruby Reds who will be raising funds for the Withernsea Pier on their Bring back our Pier tour 2018. First event will be at the Boating Club in Withernsea on the 25th May, second event in Keyingham Village Hall on the 8th June. Lots of more dates and venues to follow.
We held our AGM at the Meridian Centre on the 12th of April. The Chairman introduced the Committee, and then gave a presentation via Powerpoint of the Withernsea Pier And Promenade Association over the past year, the process of building in Stages, and the cost of each stage and our publicity and fundraising strategy. This was followed by a Q&A session. The current comittee members were unanimously reelected.
News Update December 2017
The Fundraising concert was a great success raising £558.20 for the WPPA. We had a stall at the WRCG Fireworks event. Despite the bad weather we managed to raise £60. We also attended the Christmas Light Switch On. There was a lot of support for our plans, and our tombola raised a further £131.39.
News Update September 2017
The ongoing fundraising in Withernsea is going well. We are getting new sponsors, new members and selling tickets to our fundraising concert on the 26th October. If you haven’t yet got your tickets, you can get them from The Northfield, Carousel on Queen Street or the Shores Centre on Seaside road.
We have updated our sponsorship pack which is a short document summarizing our plans for the pier, along with a sponsorship form. You can download a copy here. We are also starting to preparing our applications for the large funding sources. We now have an extensive list of possible funding sources for us to consider. One of our targets will be the Coastal Communities Fund. The 5th round of funding will open for applications early 2018 and we have a lot of work to do to be ready for it.
News Update June 2017
Following last month’s appeal in the Gazette for pictures of the Pier Towers, The WPPA are grateful to Mark Dawson for the pictures he has given us of Pier Towers before and during the construction of the steps. We would also like to thank councillor Lyn Healing and ERYC Planning Department for providing us with plans of the construction of the steps. This information will assist us in designing the first stage of the new Withernsea Pier.
We are in dialogue with East Riding of Yorkshire Council, the Environment Agency and a number of other consultees to determine what reports, surveys and consultations we need to undertake for the Withernsea Pier. It would appear from the response so far that there are no major hurdles to building the first stage if we can raise the £200,000 needed for construction.
News Update April 2017
The Feasibility Study, funded by Withernsea Big Local has now been done, and the report received. In layman’s terms, the result is that to rebuild a Pier at Withernsea IS feasible. So we have the green light to go ahead and concentrate on funding construction. There is still an amount of work to be done on research (foundations, piling types, coastal effects), but the Pier is now one step closer to being built!
We have used the donation from Tesco to print leaflets and make Pin badges, which will be used to raise awareness at events in the Town. Two large “pop-up” banners highlighting the Pier Project have been funded by a private sponsor, which will be used at events to attract interest and detail explanations of the project and why it is important.
We will be attending The Great British Coast National Conference and promoting our project.
Plans are afoot to use the Pier Towers, with the permission of ERYC, to promote the Pier project at events this summer.
A Request for Screening and Scoping Opinion has been sent to ERYC to clarify what enironmental studys etc we need to undertake.
News Update February 2017
After funding was secured for a Feasibility Study (from BigLocal), invitations to tender were sent out to eight interested firms. Following the closing date for tenders, the replies were evaluated thoroughly at the January 12th meeting of the WPPA, and reduced to a shortlist of two. After replies had been received to a number of queries on both Tenders, a further meeting was held on January 27th, and the decision was made to award the work to A&F Consulting Engineers LPP.
A Steering Group Meeting and site visit was held on Friday February 3rd.
This is a real milestone for the initial phase of the project!
The primary objectives of the study are to:
- Evaluate the proposed construction and suggest any suitable construction options.
- Identify any further studies that may be required and the possible cost implications.
Specify which of these are needed for Stage One, and for the whole project.
- To determine a rough cost of each of the four stages of construction.
- Provide a step by step plan to complete Stage One.
The final report is expected middle of March 2017.
Funding has also been received from the local Tesco’s, which will be used to help produce badges and leaflets to further the promotion of the project, and get word out and create more interest. A presentation was made by both the Service Manager and Community Champion with five of the WPPA members, and the Gazette Photographer was on hand to record the event. This was published in the Gazette of February 2nd 2017.
The application to register as a charity was turned down by the Charities Commission, the project did not meet their criteria. Discussions about the future of the WPPA could include the WPPA becoming a CIC (Community Interest Company) Meanwhile, the WPPA has now been registered as a Company, Limited By Guarantee, and registered at Company’s House.
The WPPA Bank Account is all set up, with monies paid in, hopefully more to follow through fundraising events in the future and donations/grants.
The position of Vice-Chairman, which had become vacant, has been filled by D Edwards. Richard Harries, recently joined, has been seconded to assist the News and Media position.
Our Business Plan is being drafted and updated
News Update December 2016
We are pleased to announce that our application for funding from Withernsea Big Local has been approved. WBL have agreed to fund a feasibility study for the Pier. It will verify our plan, give us a better idea of costs, and determine if our goals are achievable.
News Update November 2016
We are in the process of crafting a consultant brief, to be presented to businesses that can carry out a feasibility study. We have been liaising with East Riding, Withernsea Big Local, and multiple engineering companies while we put it together.
News Update September 2016
WPPA are grateful to have secured £200 of funding from the local Tesco store in Withernsea, for the production of leaflets and stickers to promote the group and our objectives.
THE MERMAID RETURNS
A mermaid tale by Richard Harris
Media coverage
Media coverage is now on a new page. You can find it here.
Withernsea Pier and Promenade Association Ltd. 2 High Brighton Street, Withernsea HU19 2HL. Registered in England. Company number 10593143