BIRNBECK PIER SAVED FROM BRINK OF COLLAPSE
The National Heritage Memorial Fund has saved Birnbeck Pier from collapse by awarding it £3.55 million from the Cultural Assets Fund. (CAF).
Since opening in 1867, Birnbeck Pier has been part of the DNA of Weston-super-Mare as a traditional seaside town, played a vital role during the Second World War as a site of experimental activities and weapons testing and was the backdrop to a famous 1963 publicity photograph of the then up and coming group The Beatles. It is also the only pier in the UK to link to an island. As well as a great claim to fame, the link allowed the RNLI to set up a lifeboat station on Birnbeck Island in 1882 and for 132 years volunteer lifeboat crew used the pier to access their station.
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However, the pier was closed to the public in 1994 and it was placed on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register in 1999. The RNLI were forced to leave their station on the island in 2014 as the pier became too dangerous to walk across.
After decades of neglect and deterioration, accelerated by stretched resources during the pandemic, the Grade II* Listed pier is in grave danger of collapsing into the sea. For many years, partners have worked together to try to save the pier. There is now hope on the horizon as North Somerset Council, have joined forces with the RNLI to secure its future.
