IT WILL take two million pounds to restore and combat erosion on Bangor pier.
That was the verdict of pier committee chairman and Bangor City councillor John Wynn Jones, as the authority reaffirmed its commitment to the attraction at a public meeting in Garth Road community centre on Friday.
“God help you if we’ve got people on that pier and it falls down. That is a major worry for me,” he said.
Cllr Jones explained that a maintenance program was not put in place when the pier was refurbished in the 1980s.
“As it is now, we all walk upon it and we all think that it’s fine and great but underneath, that structure is eroding. We’ve got to paint it and give it some corrosion protection,” he said.
He added that funds were being set aside for maintaining the pier, with a complete restoration sheduled in the next five years.
“We thought it was going to be easy; we thought it was just a case of spraying and that’s it. Then the Environment Agency told us we had to catch everything that was there and the price went through the roof,” he said.
Town clerk Gwyn Hughes outlined Bangor City Council’s plans for a “blueprint” for area.
Ideas included restoring the pier’s kiosks, signage and lighting;retail outlets; promoting the area’s heritage; co-operation with Bangor University to study and promote marine life off the pier; themed events and taking on Garth Gardens and public toilets from Gwynedd Council.
He also called for proper traffic management on Garth Road to allay parking problems.
The meeting discussed a possible partnership with Bangor Cathedral to obtain funds from CADW, after the council unsuccessfully bid for CADW heritage funding in June.
Mr Hughes hoped that Lottery money would be available after the 2012 London Olympics.
“The council needs to develop the Victorian pier concept to form the basis of future applications for grant aid,” he said.
Amid tough questioning from residents, Mr Hughes said that Anglesey Council had not contacted him regarding using the pier as part of the proposed water shuttle service.
“Quite frankly if I was an officer proposing something concrete, I would explore contact officer to officer.That is the protocol,” he said. “You don’t want a public consultation with a half-baked plan.”