The oldest building on Clacton Pier is to
retain its name of the Jolly Roger into the foreseeable future.
The Pier’s owners have listened to public
opinion after launching a competition earlier this year as part of a rebranding
exercise.
The overall plan for the iconic building –
which originally went up in 1893 – is to revamp it to create a 52-week a year
venue for a wide range of entertainment, sporting and business events.
However, as that is not likely to take place
for several years, it has been decided that it will be called the Jolly Roger
Arena for the time being.
Nigel Brown, Clacton Pier’s Communications
Manager, said that the Pier always likes to listen to the local community where
possible.
“When we put it out there that we are looking
to change the name the most popular suggestion was to keep it the same,” he
said.
“We then looked at the likely timeframe for
when the refurbishment project would go ahead and felt that there is no need to
rename the building straight away.
“Work on the second phase of the Pier’s £4
million development scheme is still continuing and our priority at the moment.
So Jolly Roger it will be for the time being and a new sign has been put up to
mark that fact.”
Mr Brown added that there will come a point
when it will be necessary to revisit the situation but that is still some time
off.
The cash value of the prize of a family annual
pass for four worth £200 will now be donated to charity as it will not be
awarded.
The Jolly Roger – or Pier Pavilion as it was
known when it was constructed – later went on to be called the Jollity.
The building is very significant in Clacton
Pier’s overall history and was responsible for it becoming a true leisure pier,
rather than just a working platform as it began its life under the control of
the Woolwich Steam Packet Company.
The Jolly Roger was brought back into use last
year after being used for mainly storage over the past 30 years.
It is currently the home to the Clacton Pier
Circus, presented twice daily by Circus Fantasia through until September 2.
A number of other buildings and areas on the
Pier, such as Skull Point and Discovery Bay, have been created as part of the
Pier’s development project.