'It’s killing us': South Parade Pier businesses see footfall nearly halved by Southsea sea defence work
Many beloved businesses are warning they may not survive over the winter period
Southsea’s famous pink-and-white ice creams may soon be a thing of the past as the Ice Cream Emporium joins other businesses on South Parade Pier warning that they may not make it through the winter due to footfall on the pier plummeting as a result of the ongoing sea defences construction work.
“Trade has gone down massively,” said Trevor Bratty, owner of the Ice Cream Emporium and The Pier Shop. “We won’t take enough in the summer this year to get us through the winter to next year unless there is some sort of financial help.”
The Southsea Coastal Scheme has been ongoing since 2020, with the phase of the scheme affecting South Parade Pier starting in October last year. The promenade between South Parade Pier and Speakers’ Corner has been closed since March 2 this year.
The pier owners have confirmed that there has been on average a 41 per cent drop in visitor numbers between March and June this year compared to the same time last year, despite seeing growth in footfall from 2024 to 2025.
Dave Hopkins, the kitchen manager of Deep Blue Fish & Chips, said: “It’s killing us. We’ve been doing about half of what we did last year. We were holding out for the summer holidays to see if that would help. We’ve got a figure that we need to hit to get us through the winter and it’s not achievable.
“All of the staff will be gone, bar a couple of lucky ones. We’ve got 38 staff here and it is hard because a lot of them want to know what is going to happen and it’s so obvious it’s a struggle, because you come in at lunchtime and it’s empty but this time last year, it was full.
“The owner will have to move on, or put up with losing money for two years.”
Penelope Wallis, who runs the pier’s funfair, also said that her business was “well down on footfall”.
“Nobody is walking along the pier. I think it's going to be difficult, it's just a waiting game,” she said.
Although the pier is still open and accessible, visitors now have to follow a diversion path, crossing the road from the promenade to South Parade, before having to cross back to access the pier.
“It could have been a better thought out process of navigating footfall around the construction,” said Trevor. “There’s no decent signage to say you can walk around and carry on your walk. The signboard isn’t really good enough, it doesn’t explain. We’ve had to at our own expense as tenants pay for signage to try and get people to come back.”
He said: “We think it’s great what’s happening, great for the city and the seafront. When it’s done it will be the jewel in the south coast crown, but in order to get to that point, the businesses need to survive and it’s hard enough in that current climate as it is. Why could there not have been a temporary prom put along the beach?”
Trevor also owns the business space in the turrets of the pier, and said he has had trouble finding tenants for them this summer. “It's a real shame - the turrets are great for owner operators, local people who want to set up a business for the season,” he said.
Multiple successful local businesses had their start as seasonal pop ups in the turrets, including Positive Eats and Tony the Greek. “This year we couldn’t rent one of them out because it's right next to the building works,” said Trevor.
There is also no consensus on when the works will end. Trevor said that the sea defence team “keep moving the goalposts”.
“The timeline we were given for this [West] side was that it would start in March or April this year, which it did, and it would last until October this year. The eastern side would then be October through to the beginning of the summer next year, so we would be affected for one whole year,” he said.
“But on the signs they’ve erected, it says March until May next year, and at that point they will then start on this [Eastern] side and that will take 18 months. So, in total we are going to be blocked off from one side or the other for an estimated three years.”
Despite the disruption to the businesses, the council has confirmed it will not be offering any compensation to affected businesses unless they have to fully close because of the works. Trevor said that he was led to believe, before construction near the pier started, that this would not be the case and business owners would receive financial help while the work took place.
“The sea defence company pulled in all the tenants on the pier and showed us these are our plans and time lines. They guaranteed there will be a compensation scheme in place for loss of business. They blatantly said that to us,” he said.
Tommy Ware Jnr, co-owner of the pier, said that “there seems to have been a bit of a U-turn” in the council’s compensation policy.
Trevor said: “Their stance is you can remain open, so even if you can physically prove that the loss of trade is caused by what they have done, you can’t claim.”
Dave from the fish and chip shop said: “We have to pay £40,000 in business rates and what are we getting for that? People are just not coming down - they are out and about, but not here.
“The owner has called the council and explained what is happening but they have said they can’t do anything and that’s it.
We don’t want them to give us anything, just don’t take anything. The rates are a lot of money and it would make such a difference if we didn’t have to pay them.”
Trevor is now seeking advice from local MP Stephen Morgan, and has said that if all else fails he will “take legal action” against Portsmouth City Council and the Sea Defence Scheme.
“They blatantly lied and told us that there would be a compensation scheme for loss of business and they are now saying there isn't,” he said.
Mr Morgan said: “Businesses and constituents affected by the essential sea defences work in Southsea have been in touch. That is why I recently visited South Parade Pier and met with businesses being affected by the works.
“The businesses are encouraged to collate information about the impact of the works on their trading and to liaise with the city council
“South Parade Pier is a fantastic attraction for residents and tourists to visit all year round and it’s open for business as usual. I will continue to do all I can to support local and independent small businesses based there to succeed and thrive.”
A Portsmouth City Council spokesperson said: "The coastal defence project in Southsea has been ongoing since 2020, when we first started work in Old Portsmouth. During that time we have continually engaged with many occupiers and businesses where the works will affect them. When statutory compensation was applicable this was paid.
"South Parade Pier has remained open to the public to trade throughout the coastal defences work, and the businesses are all accessible and clearly signposted.
"As part of the current phase of coastal defence work, the council met pier business owners in September last year to discuss the project and as part of that meeting they were advised to seek independent individual legal advice around compensation if they required it. No compensation promises were made and we will work with individual businesses if they contact us and consider they have a claim.”
"Once complete, the Southsea coastal defence scheme will reduce the risk of flooding to more than 10,000 homes and 700 businesses. It represents a significant investment in protecting the local community and supporting long-term sustainability along the coastline."