Discover the history of the RNLI in Weston-super-Mare and help celebrate the charity’s 200th anniversary during a free exhibition at Weston Library throughout May.
Large-scale images selected from the Local Studies Archive and local history books will be on display to tell the story of the RNLI in Weston, including its long relationship with Birnbeck Pier.
The current anticipated Birnbeck Pier project timeline (April 2024):
North Somerset Council took ownership of Birnbeck Pier in July 2023.
At a sale price of £400k, funded by the RNLI, the purchase has enabled North Somerset Council to start work jointly with the charity on restoring Birnbeck Pier. They will re-open to the public and ensure a vital lifesaving lifeboat station can operate once again from the island.
Due to the high tidal range in the Bristol Channel, Birnbeck Island remains the safest and most effective location to launch lifeboats in Weston-super-Mare and help save lives.
The vision is not only to bring the pier and its buildings back from the brink of loss but to create a unique destination to support the wider regeneration of Weston-super-Mare.
Birnbeck Pier was built 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 2 it was taken over by the Admiralty 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 operated from a lifeboat station on the island since the pier opened. 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 is on their National Buildings at Risk Register.
Due to concern about the pier, the council has been working with Historic England since 2003, and the RNLI since 2013, to develop a sustainable future for the site.
In 2020 the council started the 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 North Somerset Council.
Studio Four Architects and engineers have been appointed by the RNLI to develop detailed proposal for the pier restoration and the new lifeboat station on the island. Haverstock Associates Architects have been appointed by the council to develop proposals for the island and landside restoration and associated buildings.
The plan is to restore the pier to allow the public to visit and for the RNLI to have a lifeboat station on the island again.
As owner of the pier, North Somerset Council will lease an area of the island to the RNLI for a new lifeboat station to be built.
A formal agreement in place sets out how the council and the RNLI will work together in future years to return public access to the pier as quickly as possible and reinstate the RNLI’s vital lifesaving service direct from the island.
The council is working closely with 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.
The council has been working hard to secure external funding to support the project.
As well as funding from the RNLI, the council has secured funding from:
Local people have been hugely important to the campaign to save the pier. These include organisations such as the Birnbeck Regeneration Trust and Friends of the Old Pier.