In pictures: Final years before West Pier's closure in 1975
- Published
Black-and-white photographs of West Pier in Brighton, taken soon before it was shut to the public, have emerged.
The images, captured by Henry Law between 1973 and 1974, show the attraction before it closed in 1975, having been deemed unsafe.
Designed and engineered by Eugenius Birch, the pier opened in 1866. A central bandstand, weather screens, steamer landing stages, a large pavilion and a concert hall were later added.
The southern end of the pier was closed to the public after it became unsafe due to lack of maintenance in the 1970s. The barrier is visible on the right-hand-side of the photograph.
The West Pier Company went into liquidation in 1977 and the pier was granted Grade I listed status in 1982. It was sold to the West Pier Trust for £100 by Crown Estate Commissioners the following year.
In 1987 one end of the pier reopened. Various grants were awarded to the West Pier Trust for restoration work between 1995 and 1999, but some campaigners were against the design of the planned development of cafes and bars at the promenade end.
In 2003, a huge fire tore through the remaining sections of the pier, leaving just the metal skeleton standing. The concert hall completely collapsed in a storm the following year.
In 2006, planning permission was granted to build i360, an a 600ft (183m) viewing platform designed by Marks Barfield, the creators of the London Eye. It is hoped it will open in spring 2015.
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