Birnbeck Pier restoration to benefit from £3.55m funding

A Victorian pier in danger of collapse is to benefit from £3.55 million in government funding.

Birnbeck Pier, in Weston-super-Mare, closed to the public in 1994 and became so unstable that RNLI lifeboat crews stopped using it as a base in 2014.

Now cash from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) has been allocated towards its repairs.

Mark Canniford, from North Somerset Council, said the money is "vital" in the effort to save the pier.

The executive councillor for placemaking and economy said the authority is also "working tirelessly to secure a sale with the private owner, whilst continuing in parallel with the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO)".

It is hoped that the council will own the site soon, allowing it to start restoring the pier which will pave the way for the public to have access and the RNLI to once again have a base there.

The money came from the NHMF's Cultural Assets Fund (CAF) which has awarded £20million to 11 projects nationally.

Adrian Carey, RNLI head of region, said the development was a "significant step" towards the council's wider plan to regenerate the pier.

It also means that the RNLI can move forward with the next stage of engineering and design works to restore access to the island and reinstate a volunteer lifeboat station there.

He added: "While the success of the project is still dependent on many factors, the charity is encouraged by this positive news."

The pier opened in 1867 and went on to play a vital role during World War Two as a site of experimental activities and weapons testing.

It was the backdrop to a famous 1963 publicity photograph of The Beatles, then an up-and-coming group.

But it feel into disrepair over the subsequent decades and closed to the public in 1994 before being placed on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register in 1999.

The Grade II-listed site is the only pier in the UK to link to an island and served as an RNLI lifeboat station for 132 years.

Arts minister Stuart Andrew said he was "delighted" to be helping support the regeneration of the pier.

"Heritage is an important part of what makes a place so special. It connects us to our history, brings in visitors and makes us proud of where we live," he added.

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