GRAVESEND: Historic pier to re-open to the public

Town Pier in West Street, Gravesend, will feel the footsteps of the public for the first time since March when Riva restaurant re-opens under new management on Friday (Nov 6).

It is the oldest cast iron pier in the world, and was closed to the public when the restaurant and bar shut down after it’s tenants at the time, Q Breweries, went into administration.

Gravesham Council owns the pier and the Riva building, and sees both as key to its plans to regenerate the town centre and capitalise on the 2012 Olympics.

Council leader Councillor Mike Snelling said: “It is great news that the public will once again have access to this historic pier which is so important to our regeneration in the Heritage Quarter and the High Street. “The borough’s unique position and fast transport links to Stratford by road, rail and river, make it ideally placed to capitalise on the Olympics.

“With the restaurant’s location on the historic Town Pier, we expect it to be an enormous attraction to visitors before, during and after the London Games.”

The council has drafted a strategy to attract visitors and help local businesses cash in on the Olympics.

This includes creating a pontoon and possibly a cruise liner terminal, which will create the option of having moored boats as floating hotels.

In September the council signed a lease for Riva with Culinary Solutions UK Ltd, and since then work has been done to prepare it for the re-opening.

Anastasia Zinkevich, director of the company, said: “When we first saw Riva we fell in love with it.

“We hope to develop it into a successful business, offering people a place where they can relax and enjoy a fabulous meal.”

Town Pier was bought by the council in 2000, and restoration work began with the assisatance of grants from organisations including English Heritage and Kent County Council. The restoration work has won the council a host of awards.