Plans to restore historic pier in Weston-super-Mare approved
The work is expected to start in autumn or winter this year
Last updated 22nd Aug 2024
Work to save and restore Weston-super-Mare’s iconic Birnbeck Pier could start this autumn after it was given the green light yesterday (August 21).
The Victorian pier was designed by Eugenius Birch and is the only pier in the country to connect to an island, but has sat dilapidated and deteriorating since it was closed to the public.
But now a £4.47m plan by North Somerset Council’s to restore the pier has been granted planning permission.
The works planned by the council will “arrest decay and save significant historic fabric” and set up a cafe and shop on the landward side.
It is the first phase of a wider plan to restore the pier, with a second planning application to restore the walkway and build a new lifeboat station on the island to be submitted in the coming weeks by the RNLI.
Mark Canniford, the council’s executive member responsible for placemaking and local councillor for Weston-super-Mare Hillside which includes the pier, said: “With the first planning application now approved, we can move forward with work on the landside buildings and getting the infrastructure ready for future phases.
“While there’s still a significant way to go with this very complex project, I’m mindful that a great deal of unseen work has led us to this point and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved.
"Keep up the good work – and the momentum – on this significant restoration project for the benefit of Weston-super-Mare and the wider area.”
Speaking at the council’s planning committee on Wednesday August 21, Mayor of Weston-super-Mare (and fellow Weston-super-Mare Hillside councillor) John Crockford-Hawley urged committee members to back the scheme, telling them: “It needs the full and absolute backing of all parties, all councillors, and all officers.”
It was 160 years ago, he told councillors, on October 28 that the first stone was laid by Master Cecil Hugh Smyth Piggot.
He said: “Now begins the process of adding new stones, new planks, new girders, new visitors, for a new start and a new life.”
Committee member Mike Solomon said: “I’m a Westonian and I used to go there as a kid.” He added: “This is a long time coming. I am really excited about the future.”
Terry Porter, also on the committee, added: “I have got long associations with the pier.
"My dad used to have the fishing rights.”
He added that he used to go up and down the pier carrying baskets.
The committee voted unanimously to grant planning permission for the scheme.
The work is expected to be carried out between autumn or winter this year and summer of autumn of 2025.
Under the council’s plans which have been designed by architects Haverstock, the pier master’s cottage — which stands by the start of the walkway on the shore — will get a new cafe extension with large windows and a balcony facing out to the pier.
A shop will be located in the building itself.
Alongside repairs to the building, architects are also planning to recreate the bell cote which once stood on the roof.
The plans will also see essential repairs carried out to the iconic pier view building, the toll house, and the shell shop.
The pier’s entrance gates and turnstiles will be “carefully disassembled and stored” as they need to be removed to allow the RNLI to access the pier.
A separate toilet block will also be built.
Meanwhile out on the island, the iconic clock tower will be repaired — with all four clock faces reinstated.
Work will also be carried out to prop up what remains of the pavilion to reduce the risk of more being lost, and to decouple the boathouse from the pier bridge and prevent it from being at risk of collapse.
The north concrete deck will be demolished to prevent the risk of it collapsing and damaging the pavilion.
Crucially the works will also provide essential services such as water, sewage pipes, and electricity across the site, making it possible for the RNLI to build its new lifeboat station on the island.
Birnbeck Regeneration Trust will manage the site once restoration works are completed, starting with the opening of pier master’s cottage.
The £4.47m North Somerset Council works are being funded from the £20m the council won from the Levelling Up Fund last year.
Funding for the wider project has come from the government, National Heritage Memorial Fund, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and Historic England — as well as the RNLI itself.
It was the RNLI who gave North Somerset Council the £400k to buy the pier last summer.
Once the RNLI’s plans for the second phase of the restoration have planning permission, work on strengthening the pier itself and constructing a new deck is planned to start in spring or summer 2025 and be completed a year later.
Creating a new lifeboat station and visitor centre is expected to begin in spring or summer 2026 and be completed by summer or autumn 2027.
It has even been suggested that the restored Birnbeck Pier could be used to generate renewable energy.