Life changing

Welcome to the House of Fun: Hastings Pier reopens

Madness frontman, Suggs, who screwed the final piece of decking on the newly-restored Hastings Pier, was back to perform to a capacity crowd on Saturday night.

The Madness star, who was born in Hastings as Graham McPherson, said: "Going on the pier was always a really happy time... It's a privilege to be involved. I can't really say I had a hand in building it but at least I can say I was involved."

The band headlined a day of celebrations to mark the official reopening of the so-called "People's Pier”. Tickets for the event sold out within 90 minutes of going on-sale earlier in the year.

Repairs to the Victorian structure have taken two years, following a major fire which severely damaged the 140-year-old structure in 2010. More than 50 miles of new planking and more than 500,000 fixings have been used in the £14.2m renovation. And it’s thanks to you, as you’ve helped fund the works, with £11.4 million through the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The pier is now in the hands of the Hastings Pier Charity and more than 3,000 shareholders, who bought into the project at £100 a share. A spokesperson for the Hastings Pier Charity (HPC), said: "We hope it will re-energise Hastings, not just as a tourist destination, but it gives a fantastic new facility to local people, as well."

Thanks to you, more than 40,000 projects, like Hasting’s Pier, have been preserved, meaning we can all enjoy and celebrate the UK’s rich heritage.

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