The 19th Century Princess Pier located opposite the Princess Theatre in Torquay has reopened this week following three months of work on a new access ramp.
Initially a dilapidated pier boardwork provided access, however this has now been replaced with a more modern access ramp.
With the access ramp installed, this now allows access to the full length of the Princess Pier.
Elected Mayor, Gordon Oliver, said:
This is another great project completed in the Princess Gardens area of Torquay Seafront. Now everyone will be able to access and enjoy the full length of the pier
Further Works
Although the Princess Pier has now reopened to the public further works are still ongoing to the structure.
Cathodic protection works of the Princess Pier will continue throughout July and August.
This work will include the installation of galvanic anodes to the piles which, essentially support the deck structure.
Protective painting will also be applied.
These works are designed to further provide long term protection to the Pier against corrosion.
Similar to how the access ramps work, these works will be carried out from a barge moored alongside the pier and will not affect public access.
Princess Pier – A History
Torquay’s Princess Pier was originally opened to the public back in 1894 and was originally a concrete groyne.
Back in the 1970s, located on the Princess Pier, was the Islander Showbar which was destroyed by a catastrophic fire in April 1974.
The Islander Showbard was never rebuilt and inits place, a wider walkway was installed.
In more recent times Torbay Council unanimously agreed to spend £1.7m on restoring the pier and stop it from crumbling into the sea.
This decision was made after an inspection revealed that the structure underneath the walkway at the corner, where it meets the stone pier is rotting away.
If left unchecked the pier would simply begin to fall into the sea.
