Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Contracts going out for work on dilapidated pier
PLANS to restore a crumbling West pier to its former glory have taken another step forward.
Weston-super-Mare ‘s dilapidated Birnbeck Pier was bought by North Somerset Council in July, with the £400,000 purchase funded by the RNLI which wants to build a new lifeboat station on the island.
Now the council is putting contracts out for the multi-million restoration work.
Council leader Mike Bell told the council executive meeting on Wednesday that the plans were signed off.
He said: “Its incredible when you think about the century long-life of
Birnbeck, and it’s felt as though for a long time its been in a state of uncertainty and deterioration, and here we are only six months on from the council acquiring the pier with our partners, RNLI and others, and we are moving forwards already with the next phase of the programme.”
He added: “I hope that it gives some confidence to the community that we are really determined to drive forward this landmark project and hopefully breathe new life into Birnbeck for years to come.
The three contracts will cover safety works such as repairing sea walls and removing asbestos, and restoring buildings both on the landside of the pier and on the island.
Funding for the project has been secured from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund, and National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Work to restore the pier walkway itself will be commissioned by the RNLI, aided by funding from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Historic England.
The advance safety works is planned to begin in May, but the restoration works are not set to begin until October this year and January 2026.
Hutton councillor Terry Porter urged the council to “speed it up a bit.” He warned: “It’s getting very bad as time goes on.”
Mark Canniford, the council’s executive member for spatial planning, placemaking and economy, said: “Of course, council has to adhere by its own rules through heritage and planning processes, so we will do the work as fast as we can.”
He added that the funding for the landside works would run out in a year, so “the pressure is on”.
The Victorian pier was designed by Eugenius Birch and is the only pier in the country to connect to an island, but has been sitting dilapidated and deteriorating since the 1990s.