Birnbeck Pier restoration back on track thanks to £5.5 million funding
The council's flagship project has been saved
North Somerset Council has voted to proceed with plans to restore Birnbeck Pier, thanks to new funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Restoring Weston-super-Mare’s dilapidated Victorian pier has been the council’s flagship regeneration project.
But the RNLI — which had planned to put £5.5m into the project in order to return its Weston-super-Mare lifeboat station to Birnbeck Island — pulled out at the end of June over viability concerns.
The council had considered cancelling the project, but new funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund filled the gap.
Council cabinet member responsible for the project Mark Canniford said he was “delighted” to announce the funding. He told the meeting: “We made a promise to work right up until the last minute.”
Chair of the council Clare Hunt said: “This is not just a local issue. This has got this money because it is of national importance.”
Council leader Mike Bell said: “It was certainly unexpected and last minute but its absolutely the product of hard work. … It’s a real vote of confidence in the project.”
The History of Birnbeck Pier
The Victorian pier first opened in 1867, connecting the mainland with Birnbeck Island.
The site quickly became a tourist destination, complete with amusement rides and fairground entertainment, and remained popular until the Second World War.
Ownership of the pier then went through several pairs of hands and visitor numbers declined.
In 1990, it suffered extensive storm damage and was closed to the public by the local authority in 1994.
Since then, the Grade II listed pier has been an eyesore on the Bristol channel.
North Somerset Council bought the pier in July 2023, with the intention of repairing and restoring it.
Without the RNLI’s contribution, the council had expected it would have to cancel the works to restore the pier itself.
But the new funding meant councillors instead voted to continue the restoration of the pier and to award the contract to take over the works on the pier to J. T. Mackley.