The Grand Pier was originally timber construction apart from its piles and the connecting gridwork of primary deck beams. While those beams managed to withstand the fire without too much damage, the piles had settled differentially during the pier’s history. The shape of the original primary beams was distorted and the secondary beams between the primaries required replacement.

Architects Angus Meak designed a new pavilion as part of the £26M pier renovation with a building programme of 49 weeks to sit atop the fire-damaged Edwardian substructure. The floor space of the new building is almost double the size of the original pavilion — from 0.5ha to 0.9ha – and includes a 90m high panoramic tower. Builders Sisk was chosen to deliver the project, and SPS panels were specified for the pier decking after a restricted maximum weight was identified. The SPS panels support the new three-storey pavilion.

Sisk added new tubular piles to supplement the Edwardian piers. Weight limits on the pier waist restricted construction access to the pavilion level. Sisk employed cranes mounted on ‘jack up’ barges — in what is the second highest tidal flow in the world — to place steelworks and deliver materials.

To overcome the structure’s irregularity, Sisk fixed a cleat with holes predrilled along the primary beam to give a constant detail, onto which the secondary beams were lowered and clamped into place. Sisk drilled the connection holes in situ, and the SPS panels sat on the grid of secondary beams. The renovation used approximately two hundred 10m x 2m SPS floor panels.

Using SPS eliminated the risk of weather delays to the floor installation of the pier renovation. Once installed, the SPS panels provided an immediate working load platform for mechanical equipment, materials and workers. As Sisk completed a section of the SPS floor, work began on the main structure. A spider crane working directly off the SPS panels erected the steelwork of the main pavilion.

The entire system, including the SPS, exerts a load of just 1kN/m² and does not overload the 105-year-old pier structure. At a third of the weight of a conventional concrete deck and a quarter of the thickness, using SPS reduced the load on the substructure and enhanced the build time.

The National Piers Society has recognised the Grand Pier twice, once in 2001 and again in 2011, following the renovation.

SPS has delivered long-term durability and minimal maintenance since the Grand Pier’s renovation. The photos above were taken in late 2024.  During time between the pier renovation in 2010 until the photos were taken the SPS panels have been exposed to the elements without the need for ongoing maintenance.