Unfortunately it appears that the decision was out of the councils hands.
The council do not own the pier but have a duty to protect public safety(of course), and therefore, when confronted with a risk to the public have to take action whether the traders agree or not.
All of these issues such as Dreamland/Hastings Pier/Brighton Pier/any other amenity etc comes down to the fact that they are PRIVATELY owned.
The (private) owners deem them to be run as commercially viable enterprises otherwise they wither on the vine and die. That is the economics of it, but is it right ??
A thriving local economy and infrastructure is not all about commercial interests, and local councils/authorities HAVE to safegaurd some of these amenities that meen so much to the local population.
I live in the West Country and not so far from the North Somerset Coast, which, I have to admit, is not the most attractive as we are contrained by the Bristol Channel which is famous for its mud ! The case I have in mind is that of Clevedon Pier. It is (now) the only Grade 1 listed pier in the country but a few years ago it could have all been so different. In the early seventies it suffered a partial collapse when being periodically weight tested. The council wanted it pulled down. To cut a long story short, the local residents and council (reluctantly) rallied round and now it is owned by a charity with trustees, no need to turn a profit but it's future has been safegaurded in (semi) public hands.
This Pier draws so many people to Clevedon that it has been widely recognised that it would have become an absolute backwater if the council had have succeded in it's original proposal to demolish it . The first people to have agreed with that statement were the council itself !
This has a bearing on Dreamland as I fear (your) council is also very shortsighted. I saw this 25 years ago with Clevedon Pier, and boy, are they so glad that a way was found to save it all that time ago! .The place is a mecca for classic Victorian design and a step back in time for the many visitors that go each year. I'm not sure that they would have ever been forgiven if the pier was scrapped !
That was my point, but I put a link to a picture of the Pier here
http://www.mendipdesign.pwp.blueyonder. ... 0%20rs.jpg
It's not even that much to look at, but was designed brilliantly due to the high tidal ranges of the Severn and the need to present low tidal resistance. A more gracefull structure I have yet to see. Just compare it with a standard Pier on millions of pillars rammed into the bed !
Regards
troy