Labour parliamentary candidate lays first plank on Hastings Pier

Sarah Owen lays the first plank welcomes community funds from GMB to help rebuild the Hastings Pier.

On Tuesday, March 4, the Labour parliamentary candidate for Hastings and Rye, Sarah Owen accompanied the regional secretary of the GMB union Paul Maloney on Hastings Pier.

They handed over a community donation of £10,000 to Simon Opie of the Hastings Pier Charity and Sarah helped lay the first new plank of the pier’s renovation. The pier is scheduled to reopen in Late Spring 2015.

Hastings-born Sarah has raised money for Hastings Pier in the past by climbing the 3 highest peaks in the UK and is very pleased that the GMB union used their community funds for such a brilliant cause.

She said: “As a local person who loved going on the pier when I was young, it was a huge honour to lay one of the first planks on Hastings Pier and to welcome the donation from GMB Southern Region, which along with thousands of other people who’ve bought community shares, goes to fund what will be a fantastic cultural and economic asset to our town.

“Well done to the Pier team – the volunteers and the workers, the Sussex Coast College apprentices like Dan and Andrew who I met today, Hastings Borough Council and everyone else who has got behind rebuilding Hastings Pier.”

To find out more or buy your own share, CLICK HERE:  

 

The GMB’s Paul Maloney said: “I am really pleased that as a community-based trade union we are able to support the efforts of the Hastings Pier Charity. It’s clear that the Charity, working with the local council and partners, have achieved a great deal. We also have Sarah Owen, one of our members, standing for parliament and we are delighted to be able to join her fundraising efforts and show our mutual commitment and respect we have for the town.

“I am looking forward to the spring of 2015 and visiting the re-built pier.”

The charity has raised around £11.5million through the Heritage Lottery Fund and over £2million from other sources to fund the engineering works needed. The charity’s community share offer aims to raise a further £500,000.