The seaward face of the pier was renovated in the 1990’s although much of the replacement facing has since come adrift due to storm damage. There is also a bulge in the wall adjacent to the South West Water (SWW) manhole.
The Trustees engaged a Civil Engineer who has extensive experience in Marine structures. His advice is that major repairs are needed. The structure requires considerable reinforcement and concrete facing to the seaward walls. We have progressed this to the design and costings phase. The cost estimate is £900,000 to £1 million. It’s expensive because of the need to work between tides and the cost of getting materials to the site.
As you probably know the Trust doesn’t get any public funding. Our revenue comes from mooring fees, rents, donation boxes and levies on fish landed. We can cover our operational costs, but we don’t have reserves to fund these types of Capital Projects.
We have approached the Environment Agency (EA) and SWW with requests for funding. Both have responded to us but to date have not committed any funds. We have contacted Sheryll Murray MP for support, and she has been helpful as have Cornwall County Council and Polperro Community Council.
Given the current economic climate it feels like we have a challenge to raise the money for the work. We will continue to talk with the various agencies about funding and have started to explore other options (e.g., Lottery, Crowdfunding). Meantime the Structural Engineer has put in place a system to monitor the condition of the pier.
The purpose of this communication is to advise you of the situation. We will update you as things progress. There will also be an opportunity to share information at the AGM on the 12th November (10am at the Chapel).
If anyone has experience in fundraising or is feeling very generous, please do get in touch.
