The pier at seaside resort Scheveningen has been put up for sale by its owners, the Van der Valk hotel and catering group, blaming high costs and city council intransigence.

The Van der Valks bought the pier in 1991 for the symbolic amount of one guilder. ‘We have tried to make the pier a profitable enterprise but the returns are too thin. We can better invest the millions needed elsewhere,’ Rob van der Valk told the Telegraaf.
‘We are also fed up with waiting for the council to come up with plans for a new future for this unique western European icon,’ he said.
The original pier was designed in 1900 and stretched 380 metres into the sea, ending in an octagonal platform with a pavilion used for music performances.
During World War II, the pavilion was used by the German occupying forces for storage. In 1943 the Germans tore down the pier by sawing off the piles. The new pier was officially inaugurated in 1961.