At HPWRT our vision is to restore the Hastings pier to its former glory as the ‘Peerless Pier’, iconic of the British seaside, providing all year round family activities and leisure, including traditional and vintage seaside amusements, an education centre for schoolchildren to learn about the past and the future including the environment, and the use of low energy and renewable energy sources which we aim to incorporate into the pier. But also to use the pier for its original Victorian purpose of a healthy leisurely pastime, ‘walking on water’, therefore, our first step will be to make it an inspirational and fun board walk, part of a new a vibrant seafront at White Rock contributing to the social, Economic, cultural and environmental regeneration of Hastings and St.Leonards.
Initially we need around £8 million, to repair and restore the Victorian substructure so that it is safe for the foreseeable future, (hopefully the next 100 years). In addition we will restore the only original remaining building, which is the curved building on the apron. With this in mind we have put a bid forward to the Heritage Lottery fund, for which we need tol match fund10% (£800,000) to meet the HLF criteria. HLF funding is usually for restoration and not new build, which we obviously now required following the fire, however, HLF will fund for new build if it is for education and heritage purposes, which has always been part of our vision for the pier.
Our goal is to meet, if not exceed the £800,000 target through a range of fund raising initiatives both locally and nationally including our ‘Adopt a plank Scheme’ which gives everyone the opportunity to be part of the pier, by buying a plank at a cost of £50 which will include a personalised plaque with their name or a suitable message inscribed of their choice, and then it will be placed in a visible area for pier visitors to see. This scheme was successfully employed at Western super-mare following the fire there in 2008.
OUR TRUSTEES…
L-R - Lesley Davis, John Hough, Angela Davis, John Hodges, Tina Reid, Jess Steele and Ray Chapman.
Our Chair, Ray Chapman has experience in delivering large scale programmes of work within the travel industry and has years of experience campaigning with local government figures for the rail improvement programme across East Sussex. Ray holds a MA in Strategic Marketing Management.
Jess Steele, our Treasurer has been involved in Community Regeneration for her whole career and was a leading force within BURA. She is currently the Director of Innovation at the DTA, leading such initiatives as the Meanwhile Project which provides leadership and grants to groups to take over empty retail units to encourage short term use – thus reviving flagging retail areas.
Angela Davis is responsible for large grant fundraising and the Pier Information Centre and Shop. She has been delivering strategic transformation initiatives in Blue Chip Companies worldwide and UK Government over the last 20 years and is a OGC qualified Programme Manager and Prince II project manager.
Tina Reid is a property developer in London and holds an MA in art and architecture. Tina is keen to see public art displayed on the pier and has a strong interest in ensuring that the pier has good quality architectural design.
Lesley Davis is a founding member of the Friends of Hastings Pier and Trust. She is the management secretary and oversees grass roots fund-raising.
John Hodges is a local Councillor in Hastings and member of many organisations involved in the improvement of the Hastings area. He has been involved in engineering and programme management during his career and so has an interest in these aspects of the project.
John Hough is the manager of Priory Meadow shopping centre in Hastings. He provides useful business networking opportunities for the Trust and also brings retail expertise to the Board. The trust regularly uses the shopping centre for involving the community in pier decisions and John orchestrates these opportunities.
The Trustees are aged between 30 and 55. As well as those responsibilities listed, they attend to governance, grass roots fund-raising and events, the management of the shop and employee, grant based fund-raising applications and publicity. Many of our Trustees are educated to Masters level and have a track record for running successful businesses. As well as the expertise mentioned, they have experience within consultancy, retail, property development and charity work. Three of our Trustees are Prince2 project management qualified and one holds a Managing Successful Programmes qualification.
The trustees meet at least monthly. Sub-committees for engineering, large fundraising, marketing and ground-level fundraising draw in additional expert advisers
OUR GOALS AND AIMS….
- Rescue and restore the pier (substructure and bandstand pavilions)
- Bring the pier into community ownership
- Establish the innovative Fab Shop to provide cost-effective restoration and ensure long-term maintenance
- Provide opportunities for 100 apprentices/trainees in the first 5 years
- Engage and enlighten schoolchildren in ‘Science you can Stand On’®
- Involve Community Groups and local artists.
- Attract inward investment both to the pier and to the White Rock area, thus creating job opportunities.
- Attract large numbers of visitors on to the pier
- And finally, provide an inspiration for other piers and seaside towns in need of regeneration
Click here to view our accounts for 2009 / 2010.
