restaurant in the early 1950s. A funfair was added around the same time. By the 1960s, the pier was suffering from serious financial difficulties. In 1965, it was bought by a company owning some seafront hotels and entertainment venues. They had ambitions for the pier but were unable to cope with increasing maintenance costs. Some portions of wood and iron from the pier fell on the beach, and the pierhead was closed in 1970 due to safety concerns. The pier was Grade II listed in 1969 and the council served compulsory repair notices, but the company was unable to afford them and opted for voluntary liquidation. The remainder of the pier was closed in 1975 when the Brighton Corporation declined to buy it, passing control to the Crown Estate Commissioners. Restoration attempts After 1975, attempts were made to restore the pier. Supporters complained that the council was more interested in developing Brighton Marina. In 1982, the pier became the only one in Britain to be awarded Grade I listed status. The West Pier Trust was formed to save the pier, and bought it from the council in 1983 for a peppercorn fee of £100, though the council also demanded £800,000 required for immediate repairs before it could be opened to the public. A proposal to restore the pier with a ferris wheel failed after the backer went bankrupt. Decline and damage The pier suffered structural damage due to the Great Storm of 1987, and access from the shore was removed for safety reasons in 1991. The West Pier Trust continued to offer regular tours of the pier throughout the 1990s. In 1998, the National Lottery pledged £14 million to restore the pier, but the West Pier Trust was unable to find a suitable partner to help with restoration. The owners of the Palace Pier, who had become financially self-sufficient under their own means, claimed unfair competition. In 2001, English Heritage identified the pier as the most at-risk Grade I listed structure in the United Kingdom. In December 2002, the pier partially collapsed during a storm, when a walkway connecting the concert hall and pavilion fell into the sea. The following month, the concert hall in the middle of the pier fell over, leaving the entire structure close to total collapse. On 28 March 2003, the pavilion at the pierhead caught fire. Fire crews were unable to save the building from