Southend Pier – further updates
Published Tuesday 6th September 11 in Council - news and information releases news
Southend Pier remains closed while investigations continue into damage caused this morning to a section of the walkway.
Early today a contractor's barge moored alongside Southend Pier was pushed into the Pier by extreme weather conditions and heavy swell.
These continuingly severe conditions during the day have stopped structural engineers being able to complete a full survey to find out what repairs will be needed.
However, the surveys will resume tomorrow if the weather improves as forecasted.
For safety reasons, the Pier was closed immediately after the incident occurred and will remain closed until further notice.
In addition, a half-mile exclusion zone has now been established around the Pier to avoid potential danger of any falling debris from the damaged area.
Southend-on-Sea Borough Council's Executive Councillor for Culture and Tourism, Councillor Derek Jarvis said: "The severe weather which contributed to this very unfortunate incident is continuing to cause great difficulty.
"As a result, we are not yet able to fully assess what repairs are needed so the Pier will remain closed for the moment. However, please be assured that we will re-open our much-loved iconic Pier as soon as we can.
"The safety of everyone using the Pier for leisure or work purposes is absolutely paramount - which is why exclusion zone is now in place.
"We are doing our best to protect people from the possibility of any injuries arising from the damage. Luckily no-one was injured in the original incident."
The 80-foot barge, which was safely towed away from the scene, was used to store steel for the contractors working on replacing the Pier's fire main.