Fleetwood Pier, also known as the Victoria Pier, was a

pleasure pier Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.">England.html" ;"title="Brighton, England">Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th ...

located in the English town of

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. At in length, it was one of the shortest piers in the country. It was built in 1910 at the end of the golden age of pier building, and other than a 1957 pier built in

Deal, Kent Deal is a coastal town in Kent, England, which lies where the North Sea and the English Channel meet, north-east of Dover and south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town whose history is closely linked to the anchora ...

to replace a structure damaged in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, it was the last pleasure pier to be built in the United Kingdom. The building was destroyed by fire and demolished in 2008.

History

Fleetwood Pier opened on Whit Monday in 1910, a pavilion was added the following year, and a cinema was opened in 1942. The pier was badly damaged on 25 August 1952 after a fire started in the cinema, and did not fully reopen until 1958. At different times, it was an amusement complex,

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

and

dance hall Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for Dance, dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub. The majority of towns and citi ...

. The Stefani family were the longest owners in the Pier's history, owning and running Fleetwood Pier from the 1960s until 2000. The pier was first closed in 2000 when its owners went into liquidation, but it was reopened under new ownership in 2003, after Roger Stefani sold it. However, safety concerns forced the pier to shut once more, and when it was gutted by fire in September 2008 it had been closed for almost two years. At that time, the owners, Simmo Developments, had submitted plans to convert the structure into an apartment complex.

2008 fire

The 2008 Fleetwood Pier fire began during the early hours of 9 September 2008 and resulted in the pier's destruction. The fire was reported to the emergency services at 4:30am after a member of the public saw smoke rising from one of the buildings, and

firefighters A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

from

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service The Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service is the county-wide, statutory emergency fire and rescue service for the Shire county of Lancashire, England and also includes the unitary authorities of Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen. Lancashire Fire ...

attended the scene. However, the pier was severely damaged. An investigation was put in place to determine the cause of the blaze. On 26 September 2008,

Wyre Borough Council Wyre may refer to: Places * Wyre, Orkney, an island in Scotland * Borough of Wyre, a local government district in Lancashire, England ** Wyre (UK Parliament constituency) * River Wyre, a river in Lancashire, England * Wyre Forest, a woodland in ...

, citing safety concerns, announced that the pier would be completely demolished, within two to three weeks. On 10 October 2008, the Council confirmed that the pier would not be rebuilt. Plans for apartments on the site were approved in 2017, although only for 15 apartments for over-55s and some retail units, not for the full development of 85 apartments.

References

External links

* {{Piers in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures completed in 1910 Buildings and structures demolished in 2008 Buildings and structures in Fleetwood Pier fires Piers in Lancashire Tourist attractions in the Borough of Wyre Burned buildings and structures in the United Kingdom Demolished buildings and structures in Lancashire