Minehead lifeboat station set for £1m overhaul by RNLI

An artist's impression of what Minehead lifeboat station will look like after it has been renovated

Plans to transform a historic lifeboat station have been unveiled by the RNLI.

The renovations would see the 120 year old Minehead lifeboat station building extended, enabling both its lifeboats to be housed inside.

The charity wants to improve response times and vastly improve facilities for its volunteer crew, which are currently not fit for purpose.

It hopes to raise a quarter of the £1m cost through local fundraising.

Minehead's RNLI local operations manager Dr John Higgie said: "We generally reckon to be at sea within seven or eight minutes of being called but currently the D class launch vehicle is housed in a separate building, which inevitably incurs some delay."

A full-length garage built to the rear of the building will allow the larger boat to be permanently hitched to the tractor used to launch it, which will shave minutes off its response time, he added.

The crew's larger D class lifeboat is currently housed in a separate building

The station is now operational 24 hours a day, responding to between 30 to 40 calls each year.

The existing station house was built in 1901 and has been in constant use ever since for rescues along a 30 mile stretch of the Somerset and Devon coastline, which is known for its challenging conditions.

Built originally for an all male crew, the expansion would allow space for separate female and male changing areas along with new training facilities.

The team are hoping to raise £250,000 in the local area through collections and fundraising challenges.

Minehead RNLI chairman Richard Newton said: "We hope supporters in the Minehead and West Somerset community and beyond will rise to the challenge of supporting our selfless volunteers".

Building work is expected to begin in January 2022 and take up to 12 months to complete.