Teignmouth Pier launches fundraiser to help cover repair costs

The owners of Teignmouth’s iconic Victorian pier have launched a fundraising appeal to help pay for urgent structural repairs after the historic landmark suffered significant damage during Storm Ingrid last weekend.

The Brenner family, which has owned the pier for four generations, estimates that a full restoration of the pier could cost millions. However, it is hoping a GoFundMe fundraiser will generate a £250,000 contribution to support ‘essential, staged repairs’. The pier owners said that money raised for repairs will complement continued investment from the family.

‘Speaking on behalf of the family, Maddy Brenner said: ‘this fundraiser is not about ‘fully restoring’ the pier in one go, nor are we expecting the community to carry that burden alone’.

She explained that the Brenner family would always continue to put its own funds into maintaining and repairing the Pier, ‘as we have done for generations’. However, the family had also accepted that it can no longer ‘do it alone’ and that its resources are limited, particularly as the frequency and intensity of storms hitting the southwest continues to grow.

One of the biggest funding issues facing the family arose after the pier was severely hit by a storm in 2014. Although able to claim £800,000 through insurance to help pay for the repair job, which closed the pier for several weeks, the family has since been unable to insure the structure for storm damage. This has left the family solely responsible for all subsequent repairs.

‘Since 2014, our family has invested nearly £750,000 directly into repairs, in addition to the insurance-funded works carried out after the 2014 storm,’ Maddy explained.

She acknowledged that some part so the pier ‘look tired or inaccessible’ and explained that this was because the family had allocated its limited funds to the essential, unseen structural work that keeps the pier standing.

‘One of our biggest investments was the instalments of steel deflectors under the shoreward end building,’ she said. This was aimed at deflecting some of the energy waves expend as they return from the seawall. ‘We believe, amongst other things, this has saved us from losing the front building not only from Storm Ingrid, but previous storms,’ Maddy noted.

Most of the structural assessments, repairs and maintenance work at Teignmouth’s Grand Pier have been carried out by local maritime engineering firm TMS Ltd. ‘Their long-term involvement means they have an in-depth understanding of the Pier’s structure as well as the surrounding environment and the challenges we face each year,’ Maddy commented.

As well as the increasing frequency of storms hitting Teignmouth, the Brenner family cited shifting sands as a factor in the increasing fragility of the pier, which is one of only two remaining on the south west coast of England. ‘Due to the lack of sand, the pier has become more exposed than ever,’ Maddy noted. ‘This is the most serious issue and possibly the least visible and known as the sand acts as a natural buffer, protecting the piles from the full force of the sea.’

Initial restoration work will focus on the shoreward end of the building and move outward. The extent and speed of repairs will depend on how much the GoFundMe generates and when the pier is allowed to reopen.