PROJECT: PIER RESTORATION AND HERITAGE CENTRE
CONSTITUENCY: MIDDLESBROUGH SOUTH AND EAST CLEVELAND
LOCAL AUTHORITY: REDCAR AND CLEVELAND
AMOUNT AWARDED: PIER RESTORATION - £1,208,000, HERITAGE CENTRE - £77,000
Saltburn’s Grade II* listed pier was built in the 1860s and is complemented by another traditional Victorian feature, a cliff lift or funicular. The pier is the first iron pier to be built on the North East Coast, and is now the only remaining pleasure pier in the North East.
Under HLF’s Heritage Grant programme, over £1 million was awarded to Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council to refurbish the pier as part of a wider programme of regeneration in Saltburn. The grant enabled the castiron trestles that support the pier to be conserved to reinforce the structure. The steel deck beams have been replaced with traditional timber to reflect the pier’s original appearance. Access to the pier has been improved through the use of an inclined path that provides step-free access.
The Scarborough Tourism Economy Activity Model has demonstrated that in 2000, visitors to Saltburn spent around £14. 8 million in the town. Figures from 2002 suggest that that visitor spend had increased by around 3. 5% to over £15. 4 million.
The investment by HLF in Saltburn Pier has enhanced a popular local attraction, making long-term physical improvements and thereby securing its position as a tourist destination in the region. The success of the pier restoration has been widely acknowledged, and the pier, along with the town’s cliff lift, won a top placing in the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Heritage Awards.