People surprised not to be charged £1 Pier entry fee - bosses reveal free times

People visiting the Palace Pier have expressed their surprise at not being charged £1 to enter.

Brighton Palace Pier announced it was introducing an entry fee in May.

The fee was due to be in place "during peak trading periods" in the summer beginning on May 25 and then covering the weekends during June and the full months of July and August.

So some visitors were surprised not to be charged earlier this week.

But Brighton Pier Group (BPG) CEO Anne Ackord has now confirmed there are designated charging hours.

There are set 'charging hours' on the Palace Pier (Image: The Argus)

The Palace Pier is open from 10am until 8pm every day in summer, but charging hours are 10am to 8pm on weekends and 10am to 6pm in the week.

It means locals without a resident's card, and tourists, are able to enter the pier for free after 6pm on weekdays. Cards can be obtained via the pier's website.

READ MORE: Tourists react to new pier entry fee

The admission fee does not apply to nearby residents who have a Brighton Palace Pier local resident’s card (available to anyone living in a BN postcode) or children under the age of two.

This year marks the pier’s 125th anniversary and the costs of maintaining the Victorian structure have risen substantially.

The Brighton Pier Group said the cost of maintaining, repairing and operating it has increased 31 per cent in the last five years.

(Image: The Argus)

This amounts to an extra £2.7 million, taking the overall annual cost to a massive £11.6 million.

Ms Ackord added: “We see ourselves as the custodians of the pier. Many of our team, including myself live in Brighton and we understand first-hand the importance of the pier within our city.

"The pier is a substantial structure and in recent years, the costs associated with maintaining and operating it to the same high levels of upkeep, strength and structural integrity, have increased significantly.

"We have, to date, been able to offset and absorb these costs but we have now reached the point where, in our view, it is sensible to implement a small admission charge for visitors to the pier from outside the local area."