Repair date set for Roker Pier
A vital programme of repairs to Sunderland’s storm-damaged Roker Pier is due to begin at the end of this month.
A vital programme of repairs to Sunderland’s storm-damaged Roker Pier is due to begin at the end of this month.
Sunderland City Council has confirmed the programme of repairs to the closed pier will start on Thursday, April 24, and will take around three months to complete.
The Grade II-listed pier has been closed for safety reasons since it was damaged by Storm Babet in October, 2023, with security fencing in place and signage describing the site as a “dangerous structure” and warning people to keep out.
Planning permission for repair works was granted by the council’s Planning and Highways Committee on January 27, 2025, at a meeting at City Hall with councillors praising the proposals.
However, plans to repair the structure have been in the making for some time and were previously discussed by Sunderland City Council’s Labour cabinet back in March, 2024, where it was agreed “urgent repairs” were needed to protect Roker Pier’s listed status and to safeguard Marine Walk beach and properties in the area.
A planning application for listed building consent was submitted to council planning officials later the same year (November, 2024) setting out details of the planned works.
In a statement released this week (April 4, 2025), Sunderland City Council has confirmed the repairs programme will cost around £236,000 and is scheduled to be completed by Thursday, July 31, 2025.
Councillor Kevin Johnston, the council’s cabinet member for business, regeneration and housing, said it was hoped Roker Pier could be open again to the public by August, 2025.
Cllr Johnston said: “We all know and recognise that Roker Pier is a key part of our seafront, our heritage and our sea defences for the city and the Port of Sunderland.
“The very heavy seas of Storm Babet washed away several sections of the deck near the lighthouse, railings were washed away, along with other sections of decking and coping stones.
“Most of this damage was to the northern and eastern facing sections of the pier and, of course, we have a duty to keep the public safe so we’ve kept the pier closed.
“Roker Pier and coastal structures all along the east coast suffered damage in Storm Babet.
“I’m pleased to confirm we are getting on with the repairs programme.
“This programme is a complex marine engineering job and, weather permitting, we look forward to seeing Roker Pier open again to the public by August.”
Around 100 metres of railings were washed away in Storm Babet and as a Grade II-listed structure, the council has worked closely with heritage organisations on the repairs programme.
The council has also had to be mindful of roosting and nesting seabirds and previous council planning documents confirmed repairs were being planned “from mid-April, 2025, to allow no disturbance to bird nesting along the pier, especially ruddy turnstone.”
As previously reported, specialist works include repairs to the pier’s decking, railings and support structures where “erosion and weathering have taken a toll”, the replacement of “corroded and missing steel components” and some concrete repairs.
Those behind the repair scheme said it would “retain and enhance the key historical features of the pier, including decorative elements of the railings” and that the works would “balance modern functionality with respect for the pier’s historic character.”
The works include like-for-like replacement, apart from the replacement of granite copings on the roundhead with reinforced concrete.
Council planners, in a committee report, previously argued that “the more cost-effective, robust and storm-resistant characteristics of the replacement concrete copings offer considerable public benefits in terms of significantly reducing the cost and frequency of repair works and enabling the listed pier and lighthouse to remain open more regularly to be accessed and enjoyed as a key heritage and leisure attraction.”
The contractor for the repairs is North East-based Southbay Civil Engineering Limited, who are currently working on repairs to the River Tyne piers following damage caused by Storm Babet.
The firm also previously worked on Roker Pier slab repairs in 2014, a council statement added.
Antony Ballantyne, operations director for Southbay Civil Engineering Limited, said: “As a local contractor, we are delighted to be involved in the delivery of a project that will retain one of the North East region’s most iconic coastal structures.
“As a specialist marine contractor we are aware of the constant pressures such marine structures are under through events such as Storm Babet.
“Using our specialist experience together with that of our supply chain, we will ensure the aesthetic appearance of this Grade II-listed structure is maintained.”
Public access to the pier will remain closed throughout the works and applicants previously said “adequate signage is already erected preventing access”.
A previous design and access statement from the council noted that the pier was “originally built from 1885 to 1903” and is an “important historical and architectural asset”.
The council added proposed works will “repair all damage caused by Storm Babet, ensuring that the pier remains safe, accessible, and a valuable part of Sunderland’s maritime heritage.”