The restoration of a Grade II* listed pier in Somerset on ‘the brink of loss’ has been granted £10m of National Lottery funding.
North Somerset Council aims to reopen Weston-super-Mare’s Birnbeck Pier, said to be the only pier in the UK to connect the mainland to an island.
Opened in 1867, the pier was a popular destination for day-trippers from ports along the Bristol Channel.
It was commissioned by the Admiralty for weapon trials during the Second World War, including for the famous ‘bouncing bomb’ used during the 1943 Dambusters raid.
But waning popularity and a lack of maintenance led to the pier’s closure in 1994, and it was later put on Historic England’s heritage at risk register.
As well as bringing the pier back into use, the restoration project aims to enable the RNLI to return to Birnbeck Island, where they operated from 1882 until it was deemed too dangerous in 2014.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s chief executive, Eilish McGuinness, said: ‘Thanks to National Lottery players, Birnbeck Pier is set to be brought back from the brink of loss, ensuring its 160-year historic legacy is preserved for generations to come.’
