Weston-super-Mare - Birnbeck Pier restoration: ongoing developments and discussion

[whole diary]

[johnneyw]

Someone seems to have pulled a rabbit out of the hat at the last minute.  The evening news BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Points West preview lead with the announcement that the funding has been secured at the last minute.  I'll watch it after the main news bulletin to see where it's coming from.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Historic pier saved as surprise funding announced

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Birnbeck Pier will now be restored as new funding has come in

The restoration of a historic pier has been saved just before councillors were to cancel the project.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund has stepped in to fill the £5.5m funding gap to restore Birnbeck Pier in Weston-super-Mare, a full meeting of North Somerset Council was told on Tuesday.

Councillors had been expecting to vote to cancel the project before the surprise funding was announced.

Mark Canniford, council cabinet member responsible for the project, said he was "delighted" to announce the funding, also telling the meeting: "We made a promise to work right up until the last minute."

The RNLI^» (Royal National Lifeboat Institution - website) had planned to put £5.5m into the project in order to return its Weston-super-Mare lifeboat station to Birnbeck Island. However, it pulled out of the funding at the end of June over viability concerns.

Instead of voting to scrap the project, councillors instead voted to accept the new funding to continue the restoration of the pier and to award the contract to take over the works on the pier to J T Mackley, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Clare Hunt, chair of the council, said: "This is not just a local issue. This has got this money because it is of national importance."

Council leader Mike Bell added: "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 pier is among six Grade II^▸ (IndustryInsider - a respected member of this forum) listed piers in England and the only in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) to connect the mainland to an island. It played a significant role during World War Two as it was commissioned for weapons trials, including the development of Sir Barnes Wallis's famous bouncing bomb.

The RNLI gave the council the £400,000 needed to buy the pier in 2023.

[grahame]

Birnbeck Pier would seem a natural "lottery project" - a big investment for the heart of the nation or region that perhaps defies local financial logic.

[ChrisB]

Wonder if the RNLI^» (Royal National Lifeboat Institution - website) will move eventually too?

[Chris from Nailsea]

More detail, from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

The decades-long fight to save a Victorian pier from the sea

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Birnbeck Pier, in Weston-super-Mare, has become increasingly rundown in recent years

On Tuesday, councillors looked set to cancel the restoration of a crumbling Victorian pier when news broke of some 11th hour funding from the National Lottery Heritage fund.

More than 30 years after it closed, Birnbeck Pier had been saved.

In its heyday, the 19th Century pier hosted funfair rides and drew crowds of visitors who stopped off in Weston-super-Mare on pleasure steamers.

It opened in 1867 and was visited by millions before safety concerns saw the pier closed in 1994. Since then it has been battered by storms, partially collapsed into the sea, and become too unsafe for the former resident RNLI^» (Royal National Lifeboat Institution - website) lifeboat crews to use.

After multiple failed attempts, the latest funding announcement means Birnbeck's restoration is set to go ahead - but it has been a long journey to get to this moment.

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Birnbeck Pier has been closed since 1994 and fallen into a state of disrepair

Birnbeck - also known locally as 'The Old Pier' - is the only pier in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) to link to an island, connecting Weston-super-Mare with a small, rocky piece of land known as Birnbeck Island.

The pier was a popular attraction until it was taken over during World War Two and used for weapons testing. When it reopened after the war, visitor numbers declined and the last steamer visited Birnbeck Island in 1979.

Plans to restore the pier stretch back to 2006, when it was purchased by Urban Splash which launched a competition to redevelop it a year later. But by 2011, the company said it could no longer afford the restoration and shelved the plans.

At the time, the Friends of the Old Pier society called it "a complete and utter disaster", as no work had taken place.

Two years later, the RNLI closed its base on Birnbeck Island after 131 years, saying it had become too dangerous for their crews to get out there using the temporary walkway it had installed.

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Birnbeck Island was only visited by RNLI crews after the pier closed to the public in 1994

In October 2014, the pier was sold to CNM^▸ (Cheltenham Spa station) Estates, with owner Wahid Samady publishing plans for a hotel, homes and shops on Birnbeck Island.

Mr Samady told the BBC in January 2015 that repairs to the pier had to be linked to profitable commercial developments of the island. But local councillors were sceptical of the plans, with the then-deputy leader of the council Elfan Ap Rees saying at the time: "Up to now, he hasn't come up with a viable solution for the local residents."

By 2015, the Victorian Society featured the pier in its top 10 most endangered buildings in England and Wales.

Comedian John Cleese, who was born in Weston-super-Mare, and EastEnders actor Timothy West backed a campaign to save it, but winter storms in December 2015 severely damaged the pier's landing jetty, which partially collapsed into the sea. The council later gave permission for the deck and legs to be removed as it was too damaged to repair.

In September 2019, the council served CNM Estates with a repair notice, saying it had "exhausted all other options" trying to get the company to commit to fixing the pier.

By January 2020, the council said no work had been carried out and it was considering buying the pier, with the view of having the RNLI move back to the island.

In February, the council voted to start a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) to take it over, with the then-leader Don Davies offering CNM Estates a token £1 to avoid the CPO purchase. "I'll deliver the £1 coin personally if it makes it any quicker," said Mr Davies.

The order was approved in July 2020. CNM Estates applied for planning permission to refurbish the island in August, but nothing came of the plans.

Meanwhile, CNM Estates was involved in a High Court dispute, and a High Court judge ordered Mr Samady to find a new owner by January 2021.

The pier was sold to Birnbeck Holdings Ltd, a new company led by Mr Samady, which pledged to begin repair works "without the hindrance of historical litigation".

After a court appeal against the CPO was withdrawn in November 2022, Birnbeck Holdings sold the pier to the council in July 2023, a month before the hearing on the CPO was due to take place. The council had secured more than £20m for the project from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the government, the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Historic England.

In September 2024, the RNLI published plans to return to Birnbeck Island, and offered £5m towards the project. However, in June 2025, the lifeboat charity pulled out of the scheme. The RNLI's chief executive Peter Sparkes said the pier would present an "unacceptable ongoing financial risk" for the charity.

The council faced having to plug the shortfall itself, and a report earlier this month recommended the restoration plans should be scrapped, as the amount needed was too much for it to afford. But just as councillors were about to vote to abandon the restoration, the National Lottery stepped up to provide the money.

Councillor Mike Bell, leader of the council, said: "We had a setback earlier in the summer, but we promised to work right up until the eleventh hour to try to find a solution, and I am delighted our efforts have paid off. We are incredibly grateful to The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Put simply, this lifeline has saved the day. Without it, the future of Birnbeck Pier would have been in real danger."

[johnneyw]

Wonder if the RNLI^» (Royal National Lifeboat Institution - website) will move eventually too?

That had occurred to me too.  I understand that historically they have already made some contribution to the purchase of the island.  Quite how it might pan out remains to be seen.  I can see why they would find it easier to be able to launch from the island again.

[Chris from Nailsea]

... the pier closed in 1994. Since then it has been battered by storms, partially collapsed into the sea, and become too unsafe for the former resident RNLI^» (Royal National Lifeboat Institution - website) lifeboat crews to use.

Two years later, the RNLI closed its base on Birnbeck Island after 131 years, saying it had become too dangerous for their crews to get out there using the temporary walkway it had installed.

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Birnbeck Island was only visited by RNLI crews after the pier closed to the public in 1994

In September 2024, the RNLI published plans to return to Birnbeck Island, and offered £5m towards the project. However, in June 2025, the lifeboat charity pulled out of the scheme. The RNLI's chief executive Peter Sparkes said the pier would present an "unacceptable ongoing financial risk" for the charity.

My understanding is that the RNLI would like to return to their still very serviceable launching station: it's the safe access to it, for their volunteer crews, that is the issue.

As a charity, they cannot write an effectively 'blank cheque' to provide that.

[broadgage]

I understand that the lifeboat crew used to cycle along the pier to the boathouse, much quicker than running.
When the deck of the pier became unsafe, a narrow cycleway was repaired and was fenced off from the rest of the pier. This may be seen on the left of the above photo.

[broadgage]

Birnbeck pier featured in tonight's episode of "saving lives at sea"
Two fishermen had walked to the island at low tide and became cut off when tide rose. They decided to walk across the condemned and badly damaged pier and became trapped by a collapsed section. Various rescue attempts tried, after which the victims returned to the island via the pier. Collected via RNLI^» (Royal National Lifeboat Institution - website)  lifeboat.
Might be worth looking out for any repeat.

[TonyK]

More detail, from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Comedian John Cleese, who was born in Weston-super-Mare, and EastEnders actor Timothy West backed a campaign to save it, but winter storms in December 2015 severely damaged the pier's landing jetty, which partially collapsed into the sea. The council later gave permission for the deck and legs to be removed as it was too damaged to repair.

Not watching the programme, I had no idea that Timothy West had appeared in Eastenders. It looks like the BBC didn't want to mention the many and varied things he did on stage and screen elsewhere.

[Chris from Nailsea]

I met Timothy West, once. He was a true gent.

Your post,

Whenever I hear someone mention a decrepit pier in Weston super Mare, I think at once of Jeffrey Archer before the spelling is corrected.

... had me ROFL.

[Chris from Nailsea]

An update, from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Major work to restore historic pier set to begin

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Birnbeck Pier has been left in disrepair since it closed to the public in 1994

Long-awaited restoration work on a historic pier is to begin later.

A 100-tonne crane is being transported to Birnbeck Pier in Weston-super-Mare in the first major step of a £20m programme of repairs.

The Grade II^▸ (IndustryInsider - a respected member of this forum) structure has been closed for more than 30 years due to safety concerns, and has since been battered by storms, partially collapsed into the sea and has become too unsafe for the former resident RNLI^» (Royal National Lifeboat Institution - website) lifeboat crews to use.

A spokesperson for Mackley - the contractor bringing the crane to the pier - said they would work closely with North Somerset Council to secure the "iconic landmark".

Birnbeck, known locally as 'The Old Pier', is the only pier in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) to link to an island - a small, rocky piece of land known as Birnbeck Island.

Work has already started on the land-side of the pier to renovate the buildings, while 1888 boat house, the clock tower pavilion and landside cliff face - all of which are on the island - were also stabilised in 2024.

The restoration plans date back to 2006, but have been repeatedly shelved over the years due to changes in ownership and financial concerns.

North Somerset Council - which bought the pier in 2023 - almost scrapped the restoration project in September 2025 after the RNLI backed out of the plans. However, the National Lottery Heritage Fund stepped in shortly after to fill the £5.5m gap.

Andy Bosman, project manager at Mackley described the pier as a "nationally significant historic structure," adding that contractors would be taking a "phased and considered approach" to the restoration.

North Somerset councillor Mark Canniford, who is responsible for the project, said the upcoming work was "exciting". He also thanked the public for their patience and added that the pier works were expected to be completed by summer 2027.

[Phantom]

As a local who has heard broken promise after broken promise for decades, it will take much more than a crane turning up to clear a few planks of wood from around the entrance area to get me excited

[Chris from Nailsea]

As a local who has heard broken promise after broken promise for decades, it will take much more than a crane turning up to clear a few planks of wood from around the entrance area to get me excited

See also the now 83 pages of posts here on the Coffee Shop forum about the possibility of reopening the Portishead Line to passengers, at https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=231.0

[IndustryInsider]

As a local who has heard broken promise after broken promise for decades, it will take much more than a crane turning up to clear a few planks of wood from around the entrance area to get me excited

Worth popping down to have a peer at what's going on though?