Hastings Pier owner served with enforcement notices over 'breaches of planning and listed building consent', says council
The owner of Hastings Pier has been served with enforcement notices following breaches of planning and listed building consent, the borough council said.
It said there have been 11 breaches, which include storing items outside on the pier without planning permission and using the ground floor of the visitor centre as a bar.
A council spokesperson said: “Hastings Borough Council has taken action as there have been several breaches of planning and listed building control at Hastings Pier. Enforcement notices have been served on the pier’s owners to stop unauthorised activities and ensure they are following planning law.
“The breaches include using the visitor centre ground floor as a bar without planning permission, storing items outside without planning permission, placing structures on the pier without planning permission, and in some cases, listed building consent, and keeping structures on the pier that do not follow the conditions of previously granted planning permissions or listed building consents.”
Sheikh Abid Gulzar, who has owned the Grade II listed structure since June 2018, has been approached for comment.
In October, he confirmed his intention to sell the attraction.
Mr Gulzar said he had tried 'his hardest' and put all his 'love and money into the pier' but decided to 'let someone else take it on'.
Hastings Pier was registered as an asset of community value in 2019, meaning the local authority must be informed when the owner intends to sell.
Following Mr Gulzar's decision to sell, Friends of Hastings Pier said it intended to submit an expression of interest to the council with a bid to bring the pier 'back under community control'.