National Piers Society facts for kids

Logo of the National Piers Society

The National Piers Society (NPS) is a special charity in the United Kingdom. Its main goal is to help protect and keep seaside piers open for everyone to enjoy. They want people to stay interested in these amazing structures.

The society started in 1979. A famous person named Sir John Betjeman was their first Honorary President. The NPS officially became a charity in 1999. Since 1987, they have published magazines every three months. The society also talks to important groups, like heritage organizations and local councils, about issues affecting piers. For example, in 2014, they worked with English Heritage to create a book called British Seaside Piers.

What the Society Does

The National Piers Society holds a big meeting called the Annual General Meeting every year. This meeting takes place in a different seaside town each time, and it has been happening since 1983. These meetings often include special tours of nearby piers. The society is also working to set up local groups in different areas. They also hope to create a National Piers Museum one day.

The NPS works with other groups too. They have connections with the British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions. They also link up with the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society (PSPS). In 2005, a separate company called The National Piers Society Ltd. was set up to help with the society's business activities.

Pier of the Year Award

Since 1996, the National Piers Society has given out an award called the "Pier of the Year." The members of the society vote for their favorite pier. To win, a pier must be open to the public. Also, it cannot have won the award in the last five years.

Here are some of the piers that have won this award:

• Eastbourne Pier 1997
• Brighton Palace Pier 1998
• Clevedon Pier 1999
• Cromer Pier 2000
• Weston-super-Mare Grand Pier 2001
• Southwold Pier 2002
• Southport Pier 2003
• Blackpool North Pier 2004
• Llandudno Pier 2005
• Worthing Pier 2006
• Southend Pier 2007
• Deal Pier 2008
• Saltburn Pier 2009
• Boscombe Pier 2010
• Weston-super-Mare Grand Pier 2011
• Swanage Pier 2012
• Clevedon Pier 2013
• Penarth Pier 2014
• Cromer Pier 2015
• Cleethorpes Pier 2016
• Hastings Pier 2017
• Southsea South Parade Pier 2018
• Worthing Pier 2019
• Clacton Pier 2020
• Clevedon Pier 2021
• Garth Pier 2022
• Southend Pier 2023
• Cromer Pier 2024
• Llandudno Pier 2025

The society also gives out another award every three years. It is called the Peter Mason Award. This award recognizes excellent engineering work on piers. It is named after a past Chairman of the society.

External links

• Official website: http://www.piers.org.uk/