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A pier in Sussex has introduced an admission charge this summer – but how common is it and where are the most expensive piers to visit in the UK?

Brighton Palace Pier announced on Wednesday (May 8) that the new £1 fee will come into effect during peak trading periods in the summer beginning on May 25, and then cover the weekends during June and the full months of July and August.

The admission fee will not apply to local residents (who have a Brighton Palace Pier local residents card) or children under the age of two.

In an extended statement on its website, the Brighton Pier Group said the costs of supporting the structure have risen substantially. This year marks the pier’s 125th anniversary.

Visitors to Brighton Pier this summer will have to pay a £1 admission fee – unless they have a local residents card. (Photo by Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images)

The decision to charge people to enter the pier has been met with anger on social media.

One Linkedin user wrote: “Brighton is expensive enough. Don't agree with this at all. Not sure how it is going to be policed and I think it will actually put people off.”

According to the money saving experts at Sambla, the most expensive pier to access is Clevedon Pier in Somerset – which charges entry of £3.35 for adults and £2.25 for children. The second most expensive pier in the UK is Southend Pier, which costs an adult £3 just for entry, and £2 for children.

A spokesperson for Sambla added: “Along with the price of Brighton, Palace Pier in East Sussex, Grand Pier in Somerset and Yarmouth Pier in the Isle of White also cost £1 for entry. In total 9 piers in the UK make you pay for entry, but a still high 34 piers remain free.”

However, most UK piers remain free to enter – including in Worthing; Bognor Regis; Littlehampton; Eastbourne and Hastings.

Sussex piers: Which ones are still free to visit this summer amid admission charge introduction at popular landmark