There maybe a few times in the year when the weather is particularly bad that the Pier has to be closed for safety reasons. There may also be a small number of events which have an entrance fee but these will be advertised in advanced on this web site. In 1976 Herne Bay Pier was effectively lost as a seaside Pier after the opening of the Pier Pavilion Sports Hall. The facilities, however, were not
lost the gym being located to an expanded Herons Complex in the town centre and the roller skating rink located to a new arena at Herne Bay High School. Canterbury City Council still own and maintain the Pier but has leased a large part of it to the Herne Bay Pier Trust who have erected 31 beach hut styled retail units which are rented out to a number of different businesses. The Pier Village as it is known includes the sale of food and drink, and outlets selling all different types of goods and services. Pier Amusements has been formed by an established fairground company who have provided children with a helter skelter, a bouncy castle, self driven electric dinghies in an inflatable pond , a games hut and now a Grand Carousel. The retail huts and pier amusements are open at weekends and during school holidays but are weather dependant. They are mostly shut between the Christmas Holidays and Easter but more details can be found in the Pier Village pages. The Trust obtained a trailer of which one side can be opened out to make a small stage and this can now be extended by a sectionalised stage which can be assembled in a number of different configurations. In 2015 a canopy was erected over part of the platform adjacent to the food court giving patrons shade in Summer and cover in wet weather. The funds for this were won by the Trust in ITV’s 2014 People’s Millions competition. The Trust is committed to continually improve the existing Pier for the benefit of Herne Bay and its very important visitors.
