Worthing Youth Council has received support from the Young Roots, Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for an exciting project, W3PF? in Worthing. Led by young people and volunteers from the local community, the project focuses on capturing the past, recording the present and discovering the future of Worthing’s Pier.
The Pier in Worthing is the focal point of a seaside town centre and seafront that is both steeped in history, and striving to meet the demands of a young, modern society. A popular attraction with the many visitors who flock to the town during the warmer months, the Pier currently provides diverse opportunities for entertainment, the Pavilion theatre, amusement arcade, a picturesque stroll along the decking, and areas for keen local fishermen to cast their lines. In recent years however, it has struggled to find its identity with local residents, especially amongst the young population of Worthing.
The project will enable local young people to discover the origins and explore the history of our Pier by engaging with local people of all ages, capturing oral histories and recording artefacts which may be lost over time. Further, to record what is happening in the present and create a teaching and learning pack for all schools to ensure that this work is not forgotten. Looking forward to the future, we will discover what it is the local community and the tourists want from this attraction and how that can be achieved.
This website will be home to everything we discover on this journey, including never-before digitised artefacts, photographs and oral histories. You will be able to follow our progress through our blog. We will also be launching a Facebook group to keep the community in touch with our project.
If you have any questions about this project in the meantime, please email info@worthingpier.org.uk.
Worthing Youth Council
