AN HISTORIC seafront centrepiece that dates back to the early 1900s is set to be demolished amid safety fears.

Craig Robinson

AN HISTORIC seafront centrepiece that dates back to the early 1900s is set to be demolished amid safety fears.

The Long Shelter at Felixstowe has been closed because experts are worried that its arches could collapse.

A decision has now been made to knock down the ageing structure and replace it with a new paved area that also features gardens for lavender, rock rose, tamarix and santolina.

Robert Whiting, Suffolk Coastal District Council member for resources, said: “It will cost us around £50,000 to carry out all the necessary work, but now we have got planning permission for the demolition and the replacement scheme, I hope that it will all be completed in time for the summer rush.

“The structural defects mean that the shelter really requires quite substantial rebuilding work and there have also been regular complaints that it had become a magnet for anti-social behaviour.

“It has left us with little alternative than to demolish it. However, we are renovating the rear wall, which pre-dates the shelter.

“We plan to replace the shelter with a paved area, with some seating, using pale, warm sandstone while using some of the old blocks from the shelter in the new low walls.”

It is believed the original shelter was built in either 1909 or 10 years later, with seven shallow arches each spanning 3.5 metres, supported on six columns, and running along a length of 28 metres.