A survey found that the boat deck structure on the pier head, built in the 1930s, needed replacing.
A team of specialist marine engineers from consultant Gifford has designed the replacement programme for the Grade II* listed building.
The boat deck structure supports ‘Horatio’s’ bar and a storage area.
Some 36 existing piles will be replaced by 24 new steel piles surrounded by pre-cast reinforced concrete jackets at the sea bed level to prevent scouring. A new deck structure will be built underneath the existing pier head building. The bar building itself is structurally and will remain.
“The key challenge for this project is to minimise the potential disruption to the business of the pier”, said Gifford director Nick Clarke. “It was essential therefore that we designed a scheme that minimises weather risk delay and permits the attractions on the pier to remain open to the public during the works.”
The scheme has also been designed to represent the minimum intervention to the historic Victorian pier and the construction method and materials chosen will be sympathetic to the existing structure and not affect its form or profile, Clarke said.
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