Southend Borough Council has not given up on plans to rejuvenate the fire-damaged Southend Pier in Essex.

Hopes to secure a private-sector investor to help pay for the reparations have waned during the current economic climate, forcing the council to bid for funding from the government’s Sea Change Grant programme.

If successful, according to the Essex Echo, the council proposes to match the investment with money from its own pocket.

A blaze in 2005 destroyed a pub, gift shop and takeaway on the historic pier.