Great Yarmouth Borough Council

Wellington Pier Theatre – works begin

Picture : 'Image: Wellington Pier'

Following the successful completion of Phases 1 and 2 refurbishment to the entrance to the Wellington Pier and Wintergardens, including the opening earlier this year of the all new family entertainment centre at a cost of close to £3 million, and after considerable behind the scenes investigations and planning, Great Yarmouth Borough Council and Family Amusements are pleased to announce that work is in hand for the stripping of decking and removal of defective steelwork under the Wellington Pier theatre.

This phase of work which will lead on to the removal of asbestos cladding and then the refurbishment of the steel and timber substructure and decking programmed over the winter period. This joint working relationship between the Council and Family Amusements overcomes safety issues so that plans for the final phase - to completely restore and re-clad the structure – can be made. The Wellington Pier has been in the spotlight for some years through lack of repair. It is a landmark seafront building, first built in 1853, and these structural works will lay the foundation for plans to bring the theatre building back into beneficial use. Funding for this project is partly provided by the Heritage Lottery Fund through inteGREAT under the Townscape Heritage Initiative.

A Planning Application with details of the final phase will be submitted in the future and consultations will take place with all relevant bodies. It is hoped that the new leisure / entertainment facility will be completed and operational by the summer of 2006.

During the course of this work, members of the public are asked to avoid the immediate vicinity of the Pier and particularly to adhere to the safety signs which are displayed on the security fencing, which should not be breached at any time.

Ends:

Background

Repairs to the structure will progress as follows;
Stripping of decking and removal of defective steelwork at the end of the pier behind the Theatre (due to it being unsafe and beyond repair).
Complete removal of asbestos, including all the asbestos cladding, to expose the steel f frame structure of the building.
Repairs to and reconstruction of the steel substructure.
Repairs to the steel frame.
New cladding.
nternal refitting.

The original Wellington Pier was built in 1854. It was only the seventh pier to be built in the country and cost a total of £7,000. It was conceived as a tribute to the 1st Duke of Wellington, who died after suffering a fit in 1852. Great Yarmouth Corporation bought the pier in 1899 from the Wellington Pier Company and proceeded with a complete re-construction. By 1903 it was completed and opened. The new ‘Art Nouveau’ pavilion at the end of the pier was of steel frame construction designed by J W Cockrill and could accommodate up to 1,000 people. In 1904 the Corporation improved the Wellington Pier site by erecting the “Winter Gardens”, capable of holding up to 2,000 people for dancing and concerts, which was purchased from Torquay Corporation.

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