The Landscape Institute is running a competition to re-invigorate Southend’s pier head.
Multidisciplinary teams are being invited by the Borough Council to put forward ideas that will make the pier head a must-see destination for all visitors to the town.
The Grade II-listed pier was built in 1830 and is the longest structure of its kind in the world. However, the pier head was destroyed by fire in 2005 and has been a shadow of its former self ever since.
The Council wants a scheme that will be the focus of cultural activity within the Borough and is aiming to secure £4m of funding through CABE’s Sea Change programme and a further £1m from the Homes and Communities Agency to achieve this aim.
Design teams or practices that enter must include landscape architects, an architect and a structural engineer.
Each of the four shortlisted teams will be paid a fee of £4,000 plus reasonable expenses. The eventual winner – selected by the judging panel for the quality, appropriateness and originality of the design – will be awarded a prize of £6,000.
The deadline for expressions of interest is 15 June.
