High Court issues deadline for sale of Weston-super-Mare pier

The 153-year-old Victorian pier connects to Birnbeck Island where the lifeboat station was based

The owners of a dilapidated Victorian pier have until 22 January to a find buyer, a High Court Judge has ruled.

The decision relating to Birnbeck Pier in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, was made in a hearing over a loan dispute.

If no buyer is found, it could be sold to the charity RNLI for £350,000.

An RNLI lifeboat station was founded on Birnbeck Island in 1882 but closed in 2013 after the pier, which connects the island to the mainland, became unsafe.

'Unlikely' sale

The preliminary hearing at London Circuit Commercial Court was brought by Brian Sullivan against the directors of CNM Estates - which owns the pier - over a September 2014 loan agreement.

At that time CNM Estates was loaned £1m by Mr Sullivan to invest in the pier, a top priority on Historic England's Heritage At Risk national register.

Mr Sullivan alleges the money should have been paid back 12 months later and is suing CNM Estates over the failure to repay and seeking a further £1m in interest.

Judge Mark Pelling QC directed a preliminary trial should take place on 5 March over the loan before a fuller trial on other contractual issues later in the year.

He agreed that Wahid Samady, one of CNM's directors, should be given until 22 January to find a buyer for the pier.

If this was not successful, it could be sold to the RNLI - the preferred option of Mr Sullivan.

The court heard it would cost around £13m to restore the pier.

Meanwhile, North Somerset Council is continuing with a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for the site, a move that is being challenged by CNM Estates.