Worthing Pier will not open this week after weather impacts repairs

Worthing Borough Council said work is continuing on the pier but ‘unfortunately, the bad weather of earlier this week’ means contractors are ‘not going to be able to complete the project as quickly as we had hoped’.

"The work on the beach can only be done safely during the spring low tides, but strong winds and driving rain significantly cut the length of the low tides on Monday and Tuesday,” a council statement read.

"That has meant that although we have managed to get the steel trusses into place across the width of the pier, we have not yet been able to complete all the welding and bracing necessary to secure the trusses, beams and piles together.”

The council said that fixing work is continuing today (Wednesday, November 20).

A spokesperson added: “However our contractors and our engineers have pushed ahead so effectively over the last week that we now believe that although the work won’t be complete this week, we won’t have to wait until the spring low tides in the middle of December to finish the job.

"Instead, our teams are putting together the details of a plan to complete the work from above next week. That work could not be considered until we had completed the construction of the new supporting structure.

“We’re disappointed that we’re not going to get the project completed this week but are proud of the great effort put in by our engineers and our contractors to get us to this point. Rest assured, we’re doing everything we can to reopen the pier safely as soon as possible.”

The council said the delay will mean that the contractors’ compound will ‘need to remain on the seafront for longer’ but ‘we will remove it as soon as we can’.

The statement continued: “In the meantime, please do not attempt to go under or on the pier, or over the temporary fencing. These areas are not safe for residents to enter and any damage caused could delay when we can make the pier safe enough for us to reopen it.”

On its website, the council said two steel trusses now ‘stretch across the width of the pier’ – sitting on steel beams that are ‘in turn resting on the six piles’, that were driven into the seabed last week.

“An intensive welding and bracing operation is underway to fix the components together so that the new steel structure can support the weight of the pier in that section,” a council update, on Tuesday evening (November 19), read.

"Unfortunately the bad weather of the last 24 hours has hindered progress by significantly reducing the length of the low tides, so we will need more time to complete the work.”

On Tuesday, the council said contractors were ‘in a race against time’ to finish all the work that needed to be done before the end of November’s ‘tidal window’.

Work continued over the weekend and on Monday ‘both in daylight and in the dark’.

A spokesperson said: “These images show how our contractors have continued to make good progress by maximising every minute available to them when the spring low tides have allowed them safe access to the beach.”

Worthing Pier has been closed for safety reasons since October 10, after part of the structure suffered storm damage.

Worthing Borough Council contractors began work last week on a temporary fix ‘during the spring low tide’.

The council said on Monday evening: “Each spring low tide is shorter than the one before, meaning we have less and less time on the beach. Over the weekend and today our contractors have done a lot of bracing and welding to the six new piles and supporting beams that now sit on top of those piles. The next step is putting in place the long steel trusses that will stretch under the width of the pier, fixed to the beams on top of the piles.”

The council thanked everyone for their patience during the disruption on the seafront.

It added: “In the meantime, please do not attempt to go under or on the pier, or over the temporary fencing at our contractors’ compound. These areas are not safe for residents to enter and any damage caused could delay when we can make the pier safe enough for us to reopen it.”