It is deathly quiet on Southport Pier as the sun beams overhead.
For six months Colin Jamieson has had the pier to himself, and he alone has enjoyed the sprawling views. The 67-year-old owns the Southport Pier Pavilion, the café, and arcade that has been marooned since Sefton Council shut down the pier in December last year.
Colin has spent his days going along the pier in his golf buggy and trying to understand why it was closed. May and June are his most profitable months but with no income, he does not know how long he can survive.
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“It feels like an apocalypse,” said Colin as he stands in his café “It is so empty”. It's not just the void of people. It's the landscape, as far as the eye can see it is sea and sand.
Colin told the ECHO: “This place is part of my life and I have put all my effort into it along with my family. We have spent £400,000 renovating the café and arcade in the last two years.
“I think the pier could have been opened three days after the ice had melted in December. I was told the ice had gone into the timber and damaged it but have never seen any proof of that.”
In the summer of 2022, Sefton Council outlined £3m plans to replace the wooden beams which comprise the pier's surface. But in December, further damage was caused during freezing weather, and the landmark has remained closed.
Colin said: “No business can close no matter how strong it is and expect to carry on without money coming in for six months. I have got two daughters working down here and a son-in-law, they have all lost their income.
“I need to keep them afloat which is becoming more difficult as time goes by. It is getting to the point where we need compensation from the council or we will not survive.”
Colin estimates he has invested over £1m in the business since he took over the lease in 2003. The dad-of-two said his income was already in decline when the council stopped the miniature railway from operating on the pier.
Colin estimates this cost him 40% of his revenue stream, he said: “For this year alone we have asked the council for £200,000 worth of compensation to cover our losses but so far we have had no reply.
“We either need to reopen it and repair the pier while it's open or get the work done as fast as possible. The council don’t seem to be doing anything at the moment and no work has been done at all. Which seems ridiculous, it has been closed for six months and not even a screw has been put in.”
In December 1990, a vote to demolish the Grade II listed structure was defeated by a single vote. Restoration began in 2000 and it reopened to the public in May 2002 thanks to work costing £7.2m. That was one year before Colin took over the lease on the café and now the question of if it will close permanently is a constant thought.
He said: “It is like a ghost town now and it has been abandoned. I have put a lot of money into this place and it is soul-destroying to see it like this.
"Every time I come down here I walk away depressed. It has taken a lot of years to get things right here and the council has a responsibility to the people of the town. People love it but what can we do.”
Sefton Council previously told the ECHO: "The survey being carried out on Southport Pier involves a thorough and intrusive assessment of the 3,600ft structure. Due to the detailed nature of this assessment and the complexity of Southport Pier's structure, the survey will take time to complete.
"However we will update both business owners directly and the public through our official communication channels as soon as possible." The spokesperson added: “We appreciate this is a frustrating time for everyone but health and safety remains our priority.”
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