Hastings’ new battle: Locals fight to save pier as ‘sheikh’ puts it up for sale

IIt has survived fire, bankruptcy and scandal, not to mention 153 years of enduring the ravages of British weather, but now hastings“Unique Ghat” of, As it was welcomed at its grand openingAs soon as it hits the market, its turbulent story takes a new twist.

Facing £150,000 fraud lawsuitThe council says the ghat’s controversial current owner, self-styled Sheikh Abid Gulzar, is planning to “dispose of” the historic site, sparking a race to bring it down. Victorian Structure back into public ownership.

Hastings Borough Council confirmed that it had received formal notification from Mr Gulzar that he intended to sell the pier, and had informed the group that had nominated it as an asset of community value to see if they were interested in submitting a bid.

A group named Friends of Hastings Pier has told Independent It is “optimistic” it may succeed in bringing the pier back under community control.

“It’s early days right now,” James Chang, a spokesman for the Friends of Hastings Pier, said this week. “I just received the email from the council on Friday afternoon.”

Acknowledging that the pier could face “a liability of several million” in the current situation, Mr. Chang said, “At the moment we are optimistic, because first, [Mr Gulzar] It was owned and that was that.”

He added: “He’s said he wants to take it forward, which is why it should belong to the community. It shouldn’t be for one person to run it until they get tired of it.”

Mr Gulzar, who was nicknamed “Goldfinger” because of his love of jewelery and gold, owned several hotels in Sussex and still owns Eastbourne Pier. he will do face the test By a jury at Lewes Crown Court in September 2026 on ten charges of fraud. He and his business partner Manasdeep Singh are accused of defrauding a water company out of a total of £150,000. Both defendants have denied all allegations.

Mr Gulzar took ownership of Hastings Wharf in 2018 in highly controversial circumstances, repairing the wharf with £12.4m of lottery funding two years later when the charity that runs it fell into administration.

The expected bid for the pier by the Friends of Hastings Pier would be the second attempt by the group to bring the historic site under community control, after losing out to Mr Gulzar in 2018, who reportedly bought the pier from administrators for £50,000, despite the community group raising more than £477,000 to buy the pier and keep it open to the public for free.

At that time, frustrated locals gathered on the pier to immediately offer him to buy it back for £65,000 – but he rejected the offer.

Sources have said Independent Now he is demanding £3.5m for the pier. according to a fresh Times ArticleMr Gulzar has an estimated net worth of around £5m.

Hastings MP Helena Dollimore told Independent Growing resentment about the sale of the pier remains a major consideration in 2018.

“Our city is still very angry about what happened in 2018. I would urge Mr Gulzar to work with the people of Hastings now. The pier belongs to Hastings, and as the local MP I will support efforts to bring it back under community control and protect the pier.”

He acknowledged the continued work done by the Friends of Hastings Pier group in terms of highlighting maintenance issues and other concerns about the condition of the pier.

“Hastings Wharf is an integral part of our identity as a city and our heritage. Everyone in Hastings wants to see the Wharf preserved and thrive. As well as being a Labor MP, I’m a Co-operative MP, which means I support the principle that communities should have control over the things that are important to them,” she said.

“Many people in Hastings are not happy with the way the pier has been run in recent years. They don’t feel it is reaching its full potential and now we have the opportunity to change that.”

Built in 1872 and opening on the UK’s first bank holiday weekend, the pier not only charmed wandering Victorians, but survived its first serious fire in 1917 and became a major UK music venue in the 1960s, hosting acts including The Rolling Stones, The Hollies, Suzi Quatro and Jimi Hendrix. Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd is said to have played his last gig there with the band, and was reportedly stopped Falling over the railing into the sea.

Long before its Victorian heyday and its brief role in rock and roll history, Hastings Pier has stood for decades, its slow cycles of wear and repair often reflecting the fluctuating fortunes of the town to which it is attached.

The plight of the pier came to an end in 2010, when it closed after four years in a deplorable state. A massive fire destroyed the structureThe ballroom and 95 percent of the rest of the structure were destroyed. Two men were arrested on suspicion of arson, but were never charged, with the CPS citing lack of evidence.

A twisted skeleton of burnt metalwork remained in place over the sea for many years, but behind the scenes a major effort was underway by the community to rebuild.

In 2012, £12.4m of lottery money was secured and gradually, work began on rebuilding the pier. It was officially completed in March 2016 when Madness lead singer Suggs, who was born in Hastings, officially completed the restoration by screwing down the final planks of the approximately 50 miles of decking that make up the renovated pier.

Next year, Ghat won the sterling prize Awarded for the best building in Britain and heralded as a “phoenix rising from the ashes”. But despite the huge success in revitalizing the historic site, the sleek, modern, minimalist pier faced almost immediate adversities.

Nicknamed “The Plank” due to the largely uninterrupted expanse of decking sticking out over the waves, owners have struggled to make it profitable. The two small indoor areas mean there is little shelter if the weather turns bad, while significant overheads, or rather underfoot maintenance costs due to the constant battering of the sea, means margins are thin.

When Mr Gulzar took the keys in 2018, the first thing he did was close it for several months, citing maintenance required on the structure. Meanwhile, behind closed doors, locals noticed a growing influx of golden animals and objects. Behind the fiberglass golden lions was a large golden hippopotamus and a golden bull on a marble plinth. The rusty old pier pillar was painted gold and placed at the entrance of the pier.

When the pier finally reopened, except for new shine at the entrance – sometimes including Mr Gulzar’s own gold-painted Mercedes – little had been done to make the pier a destination in its own right.

Since then, a sequence of events and attractions have gone on with much less fanfare, including gigs, DJ sets, pop up bars in the form of the UK’s largest beer garden, football screenings, and various attempts to overhaul the restaurant and hatch on the top deck.

Report filed at Companies House show The company that runs Hastings Pier – of which Mr Gulzar was the sole director – has been wound up with unpaid debts of more than £300,000, including more than £74,000 owed to suppliers and £77,000 in employment tribunal awards. Although the company is defunct, Mr Gulzar still retains private ownership of the ghat.

according to sussex expressMr. Gulzar Said: “I tried my best and put all my love and money into this pier and at the age of 81 I have decided to hand it over to someone else.”

Former “wharf owner”, and associate of Mr Gulzar, Lord Brett Maclean (who is not Lord, but shares his name with Sheikh Abid Gulzar), told IndependentThe upcoming fraud trial has nothing to do with Mr Gulzar’s desire to sell Hastings Pier.

Mr McLean, who said he managed the pier for two years after Mr Gulzar bought it, added: “He wishes to reduce his property portfolio so he can begin to enjoy a more comfortable life and at the age of 81 he should reduce some of his hours like other senior citizens who spend their time on social and leisure activities.”

But he suggested Mr Gulzar would not be keen to sell the pier to the Friends of Hastings Pier community group.

It is yet to be proven whether the pier represents a viable business opportunity. He would hardly be the first to make “End of the Pier Show” style headlines.

John Bonas, business improvement district manager for local organization Love Hastings, said Independent They were concerned that the estimated cost of the pier could be in the millions and what it might actually be worth to an organization once repair and maintenance work was included.

“Evaluation of things like pillars is complex and often very subjective. On the one hand they have huge community value, but on the other they are money pits in terms of ongoing maintenance,” he said.

“The cash value is ultimately what someone is prepared to pay. So, with the repair works required potentially running into the millions, my concern is that unless a sale can somehow be forced at a viable price, there will continue to be an impasse between the current owner’s expectations and the amount that anyone with a realistic business plan would be willing to pay in terms of achieving a return on investment.”

Independent Mr Gulzar’s representatives have been contacted for comment.