Historic pier saved as surprise funding announced

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 had planned to put £5.5m into the project in order to return its Weston-super-Mare lifeboat station to Birnbeck Island.

However, the RNLI pulled out of the funding agreement 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."

'Make this happen'

The National Lottery Heritage Fund described the restoration of the pier as a "transformational project" that will help regenerate the landscape of the town for generations to come.

Chief executive, Eilish McGuinness, added: "Birnbeck Pier is a unique part of our coastal heritage that has been at risk of loss for over 25 years.

"The additional grant reflects our commitment to saving heritage at risk and investing in the communities it belongs to.

"We know that any major project and investment of this scale will have risks, but we are committed to working collaboratively with North Somerset Council, Historic England and UK Government to make this project happen."

Birnbeck Pier pictured in 2016

The pier is among six Grade II listed piers in England and the only in the UK 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.