Birnbeck Pier project

We took ownership of Birnbeck Pier in July 2023.

At a sale price of £400k, funded by the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Association), the purchase enabled us to start working with the charity to restore Birnbeck Pier.

Birnbeck Pier and Island will re-open to the public, attracting visitors from across the region to this nationally important heritage site. It will also ensure a vital lifesaving lifeboat station can operate once again from the island. 

Due to high tides in the Bristol Channel, Birnbeck Island offers the RNLI the safest and most effective place for the volunteer crew to launch and recover their lifeboats in Weston-super-Mare. It is the only place that volunteers can safely provide a lifesaving service for the town at all stages of tide.

The vision is not only to bring the pier and its buildings back from the brink of loss, but also to create a unique destination to support the regeneration of Weston-super-Mare.

About the pier

Birnbeck Pier opened in 1867. It was designed by Eugenius Birch and is the only pier in the country to link to an island. It is an outstanding example of Victorian engineering and is Grade II* listed. It used to be a very popular visitor attraction with funfairs, rides and steamer ferries.

During World War II it was taken over by the Royal Navy and used as a secret base for weapons testing.

After the war, the site never fully regained its popularity. It began a slow decline passing through a series of private owners.

The lack of maintenance caused the pier to become unsafe and in 1994 it was closed to the public. The RNLI had operated from a lifeboat station on the island since the pier opened but they were forced to leave in 2014 after the pier was deemed too dangerous. The RNLI is currently operating from a temporary base at Marine Lake. 

Historic England were so concerned about the deterioration that it has been on their National Heritage at Risk Register since 1998. Due to concern about the pier, we have been working with Historic England since 2003 and the RNLI since 2013 to develop a sustainable future for the site. 

Compulsory purchase order

In 2020, we started a compulsory purchase order (CPO) process. The CPO public enquiry was scheduled to take place in August 2023, but on Thursday 13 July 2023 the owner agreed to sell Birnbeck Pier to us.

Studio Four Architects and engineers were appointed by the RNLI to develop proposals for the pier restoration and creation of a new lifeboat station. We appointed Haverstock Associates Architects to develop proposals for the island, landside restoration and associated buildings.

As owner of the pier, we will lease an area of the island to the RNLI for a new lifeboat station to be built. A formal agreement sets out how we will work with the RNLI to return public access to the pier as quickly as possible and reinstate the RNLI's vital lifesaving service from the island.

We are working closely with the Birnbeck Regeneration Trust, who it is anticipated will manage the site. This will be in a staged process once restoration works are complete, starting with the opening of the restored Pier Master's Cottage.

Work has already started with some safety works in preparation for the main restoration work which is due to start in spring 2025.

Funding

We continue to work hard to secure external funding to support the project. 

So far, we have secured over £25m in funding from:

• The National Lottery Heritage Fund - £10.2m. Of this, £10m was awarded in October 2024 to fund capital works to rescue and stabilise the pier structure. An initial grant of £234,761 was awarded in September 2022 to develop plans to transform and relaunch the pier as a visitor attraction for Weston-super-Mare, and to progress a full grant application for an additional £7m which is due to be determined in spring 2025.
• We purchased Birnbeck Pier and Island in July 2023 thanks to £400k funding from the RNLI. The RNLI has committed additional funding towards the pier restoration.
• The UK government (former Levelling Up Fund) - £5.4m.
• National Heritage Memorial Fund, through the UK government’s Cultural Assets Fund - £3.55m.
• Historic England - £1m.

Local people have been hugely important to the campaign to save the pier. This includes the Birnbeck Regeneration Trust and Friends of the Old Pier Society.