DRAFT plans for the regeneration of Swanage Pier have been unveiled to the public.

The plans and illustrations will be on show until Friday, April 8, at the Pierhead Watersports building on the pier.

It marks the next step towards providing Swanage Pier with a sustainable future. Over 125,000 people visit the attraction each year.

The Swanage Pier Trust, which took over management in 1984, said these plans represented “a culmination of community views, consultations and professional input”, adding it was an opportunity for visitors and residents to provide some “constructive feedback”.

Ben Adeney, chief executive of Swanage Pier Trust, said: “In order to ensure the plans represent community views, many volunteers, local residents and organisations have contributed and been closely involved with the whole process.

“This is an exciting opportunity to be among the first to view the draft plans and make comments.”

The trust has provisionally been allocated just over £800,000 by the Heritage Lottery Fund but has until November 2016 to raise an additional £900,000 to release the funding, which will enable the charity to restore and regenerate the pier.

When the trust took over management of the pier, it had been left to deteriorate for over 30 years, and the structure required significant maintenance and restoration.

The trust has undertaken repairs over the years, however, a survey has revealed that 41 of the pier’s timber piles are in a critical condition, putting the structure at risk of collapse.

David Laut, chairman of Swanage Pier Trust, said the new plans were “an important milestone in the development of Swanage Pier.”

“The local community have helped enormously with these plans, and we are keen to find out what everyone else thinks,” he added.