More Pier News
Gulzar Goes For Gold
Sheikh Abid Gulzar, owner of Hastings Pier, has applied for listed building consent and planning permission to erect a new pavilion building on its eastern (lefthand) side, opposite the block which currently accommodates the Casa de Pier restaurant.
The application, prepared for him by Eastbourne architects CKA Architectural, describes the intended new construction as matching the existing restaurant building and “be[ing] a largely faithful replica to the building that was lost due to the fire” in 2010, though with a slightly altered location so that existing temporary structures can be retained. The original buildings were designed as a pair to provide shelter on either side of a bandstand. The new building will feature the same curvature similarly capped with a dome at either end, and replicate other aspects of the design “to provide a sense of a pair of buildings, as was the original design intent”.
One of the existing kiosks landward of of the proposed new building will be adapted to provide additional WC facilities – a new disabled WC and three other toilets.
The proposed works “would largely restore the appearance of the Pier back to its heyday of the late 1920s/early 1930s”, it is argued in the application. But Mr Gulzar also proposes to “update the existing décor” by festooning the pier entrance and the twin pavilions with the personal trademark liberally used across his property empire at Eastbourne: the colour gold. Permission is sought for the arrow heads on the entrance gates and railings, the balls on the top of side railings, and all four domes on the pavilions to be painted gold.
Mr Gulzar’s previous forays into golden décor at Hastings Pier for accessories such as forms of stuffed animals have met with some local hostility. This new design proposal may prove similarly contentious.
Update on Pier Company Liquidation
The liquidator of the former company Lions Hastings Pier Ltd, through which Mr Gulzar managed the pier as its sole director until it collapsed into insolvency last year, has filed a first year’s report of her administration. Laura Walshe, an insolvency practitioner practising in Birmingham, reveals in it that the trade fixtures and fittings on the pier, which were the company’s sole assets, were sold back to him for £7,000. Former pier engineer Peter Wheeler, who together with fellow employee Daisy Hill brought claims against the company before an Employment Tribunal and were awarded over £82,000, made a (presumably lower) counterbid. The full indebtedness of the company was confirmed to be in the region of £300,000. Neither Mr Wheeler nor Ms Hill nor any other creditor will receive any pay-out, though Ms Walshe indicates that the two former employees may receive some compensation from the Redundancy Payments Service.
Ms Walshe has confirmed making a “confidential report” to the Insolvency Service on the conduct of Mr Gulzar as former director. There were, she indicated, “matters which did merit further review relating to dealings between the company and an associated entity”, and she has asked for further information on this from him. But she also noted that concerns in relation to other companies operated by him were “beyond the scope of my duties”. On past performance, the probability of the Insolvency Service taking any action against him, e.g. to question his fitness to continue as a director of his other ongoing companies, must be regarded as extremely remote.
Christmas Market with Ice Skating
Pier leaseholders Piertown have announced that they will install a temporary ice rink on the boards of the pier as part of a Christmas market. It will open on 14 November and run for seven and a half weeks until 5 January.
The market will have free entry. Timed ice skating sessions are bookable through Skiddle (price £8 for adults, £6 for under 14s, for up to an hour). Live music, mulled wine and children’s rides are promised, as is a Santa’s grotto.
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