Image: “Sun setting over Birnbeck Pier which has been awarded a £10m lifeline by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. North Somerset Council is leading the project in partnership with the RNLI © Chris Gorman
The Victorian landmark is set to be reopened in a plans announced exactly 160 years after its construction began
A Grade II* listed Victorian pier in Weston-super-Mare is to be made safe and reopened for the public as part of a multi-million pound project.
Led by North Somerset Council in partnership with the RNLI, the £10m Birnbeck Pier project will restore the pier, which is currentlyon Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register, and allow further restoration work for the Listed buildings which sit upon it.
Construction began on the pier exactly 160 years to the day, when a foundation stone was laid on 28 October 1864.
Designed by Eugenius Birch and opened in 1867, it was formerly a popular destination for day-trippers from ports along the Bristol Channel, including from south Wales.
Post-war, the pier’s popularity waned leading to a decline in visitors and steamer services, with the last steamer excursion taking place in 1979. The lack of maintenance during private ownership caused the pier to become unsafe and in 1994 it was closed to the public.
North Somerset Council purchased the pier and island in July 2023 thanks to £400k funding from the RNLI.
As well as re-opening to the public, the project also now intends to enable the RNLI to return to the island. Subject to planning consent, the RNLI aims to build a new modern lifeboat station and create a visitable RNLI space on Birnbeck Island.
Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:
“This is great news for Weston-super-Mare and beyond. Thanks to National Lottery players, Birnbeck Pier is set to be brought back from the brink of loss, ensuring its 160-year historic
legacy is preserved for generations to come.”
Heritage Minister Sir Chris Bryant said: “It has felt for ages as if it was the end of the pier show for this end of the pier, but I applaud the ambitious work of The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the local council to restore this landmark to its former glory and I hope this funding brings the public one step closer to a stroll to the end of Birnbeck Pier.”
Work to repair the cliff face behind the landside buildings at Birnbeck Pier, part of North Somerset Council’s restoration project, starts today (Tuesday 29 October).
