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Statement regarding Angling from Admiralty Pier Dover from the Trustees of Dover Sea Angling Association.
We have received a large number of enquiries about the future of the Admiralty Pier so have prepared this statement to give our members and the people of Dover a better understanding of what’s happening.
Dover Sea Angling Association (DSAA) are a nonprofit club who have managed the public angling and promenading on Dover’s Admiralty Pier since 1987, we operate the venue under a licence from Dover Harbour Board(DHB).
In 1987, after the Hurricane, DHB had a lot of damage to deal with and repairing the pier for angling and walking was not a priority. DSAA borrowed £180,000 to carry out extensive repairs to the wall, walkway and fencing, as part of an agreement with DHB that DSAA would then run the angling from the pier permanently. In total since 1987 DSAA have spent over £300,000 on improvements including building a toilet block and kiosk, plus numerous repairs after storms.
Angling from the pier is enjoyed by over 10,000 people every year, with 1000’s of local residents making use of one of the best known fishing piers in the entire UK. There are also significant numbers of walkers who use the pier regularly as part of the Bluebird Trail, it is a very popular viewing point for the large international cruise ships which now visit Dover regularly. The inside of the Admiralty pier is a disabled fishing area known as CT3, this was offered by DHB when the Prince of Wales Pier was closed for the western docks development, the Price of Wales was one of the most accessible piers for disabled anglers in the entire country. DSAA offered to steward the CT3 area for DHB when it opened.
For the last 7 years Dover Harbour Board have been aware of a potential issue with the integrity of the first half walkway, it has been discussed at every meeting between DSAA and DHB and on numerous occasions DHB have advised that, when the work is needed, there will be minimal disruption to angling. Around 1 year ago DHB advised that the condition of the walkway had deteriorated and that repair work was going to be needed soon, through various emails, meetings and site meetings it was agreed that whilst the work was carried out angling would continue from the second half of the pier, this would likely be at a financial loss to DSAA as DHB wanted numbers to be kept quite low especially when a cruise ship was in the berth. As it was only a short term requirement DSAA agreed to the plan as it would keep angling going. This plan has been in place, ready to be implemented for a number of months.
Last week DHB advised DSAA that due to the scale of the work needed they do not intend to start any repairs for at least 4 years. This is contrary to every other communication DSAA have had with DHB about the repairs and has come as a major shock to the club, leaving us in a very difficult position.
DSAA are a relatively small club, with limited funds. We employ 4 full time staff and a number of part time staff to oversee the fishing and promenading on the pier and generally, with all the costs of staff, insurance and rent etc, we usually just about break even on the running of the pier. With the proposed reduction of numbers to as low as 15% of current capacity it would be very easy for the club to make significant losses, losses that could finish a club that has run for well over 100 years.
In light of this new information about the delay to work commencing we are attempting to reopen discussions with DHB about possible alternatives to the existing second half plan. We are concerned that, at very best, opening hours will need to be greatly reduced with weekend only opening much of the year and turning away anglers and walkers on the busier days. The worst outcome is the pier is closed completely for at least 4 years. Either option will almost certainly lead to redundancies amongst the pier staff and have a significant impact on the many local businesses who benefit from both local and travelling anglers using the pier, this is something we are desperate to avoid. The Walkway of the first half is still considered safe to use and has not yet deteriorated to an unsafe level, in fact DHB have recently replaced all of the supports which have been in place for many years.
In the last 5 years angling has been stopped from 3 other piers in Dover with the Admiralty now the last remaining evidence of what used to be the most angling friendly harbour in the UK. We are optimistic that as DHB are committed to the local community they will work with us to find a way to ensure angling and walking can continue in our harbour for many years to come.
