Charred sections of timber on Southend’s world famous pier are finally being replaced more than 25 years after a major fire.
Southend Borough Council’s £2.4m project to repair the 1.3 mile pleasure pier, the world’s longest, started last September and involves the specification of about 600m3 of structural timber and 1,000m3 of decking.
Most of the structural timber was reclaimed to satisfy the council’s environmental charter, including large quantities of moisture-resistant tropical ekki and basralocus sourced from Holland. A small amount of greenheart was supplied from the UK.
The wood was milled at Helmden Sawmills, Northampton, transferred to a storage area on the Isle of Sheppey and then moved by barge to the pier.
Timber for the lower and upper decks was new Forest Stewardship Council certified red angelim vermelho and massaranduba from Brazil.
Kevin Taylor of J Breheny Contractors of Ipswich, described the project as “like doing a 3D jigsaw puzzle out at sea”. He said the work would be finished in June, with the final cost probably £1m higher at £3.4m than the original £2.4m estimate.
