The owner of Burnham-On-Sea’s landmark Pavilion, which is Britain’s shortest pier, has explained why she has put it on the market.
The concrete pier, which is more than 100 years old, has been put up for sale by its owners, the Parkin family.
Louise Parkin said in a BBC interview this week: “It is sad, very sad, it has been in my family for a long time. We have all grown up here – my brothers, sister and I. My earliest memories are from here.”
“But my brother has got cancer, my dad has cancer, and I have rheumatoid arthritis in my feet.”
“My parents are 75 and 80 – I’d like them to have a bit of a rest, but it’s bitter sweet because it means leaving the pier and we’ve been here a long time.”
An advert has been placed in the latest issue of a leisure industry trade magazine that promotes it as a ‘freehold property, with planning to extend’.
The Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel was the inspiration for the Pavilion, the first to be constructed in reinforced concrete, rather than the steel and cast Iron used for Victorian piers.
Harry Parkin took over the then-derelict Pavilion in 1968 and many years of effort have since been spent on renovating it and maintaining it. No price has been indicated.
