North Somerset Council has secured over £44m and says the pier is on track to reopen in summer 2027. The deck is being rebuilt now and one operator will run it.
Birnbeck Pier is on track to reopen to the public in summer 2027, and North Somerset Council is already in talks about who will run it. The council says it is holding targeted discussions with heritage organisations and operators about appointing a single operator to manage the whole site, on a not-for-profit basis, as part of a wider portfolio of heritage locations. (North Somerset Council, 19 June 2026)
Thirty-two years after the pier was closed as unsafe, that is a firmer date than Weston has had at any point since.
Where the work has got to
The council’s project timeline, last updated in April 2026, splits the restoration into three phases that have run in sequence and now overlap. (Birnbeck Pier project, North Somerset Council)
- Complete. Repairs to the island sea wall, stabilisation of the 1888 boat house, the clock tower pavilion and the landside cliff face, carried out from autumn 2024 to winter 2024 by Teignmouth Maritime Services and Vertical Technology.
- In progress to autumn 2026. Repair and renovation of the landside buildings, and putting essential services and infrastructure into the whole site. Bristol firm Smith and Brenson is the contractor for this phase, working to proposals by Haverstock Associates Architects.
- In progress to spring 2027. Restoration of the pier structure itself, by the marine civil engineering contractor Mackley, with proposals developed by Studio Four Architects and Marbas engineers.
Two further phases, covering the island buildings and the north jetty, do not yet have dates. The council says the timescale will be confirmed once HM Treasury settles the funding conditions attached to the extra money it announced in March.
The most visible sign of progress this summer was small. On 30 July two flags went up on a new five and a half metre flagpole on the Grade II listed southern toll house, alongside restored decorative roof edging. The flags are international maritime signal flags: red for B, blue for P, Birnbeck Pier. That work, and initial conservation of the historic entrance gates and turnstiles, was paid for with £62,120 from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Heritage at Risk Capital Fund, delivered by Historic England. (North Somerset Council, 30 July 2026)
The money, and where it came from
The council has now secured more than £44m for the project, from four sources.
The UK government has put in £24.4m of it. £19m came from HM Treasury’s Growth Mission Fund in March 2026, and £5.4m from the former Levelling Up Fund in January 2023. (North Somerset Council)
The National Lottery Heritage Fund has given £15.74m across three awards: an initial £234,761 in September 2022 to develop the plans, £10m in October 2024 for the capital works to rescue and stabilise the pier structure, and £5.54m in September 2025. (North Somerset Council)
The National Heritage Memorial Fund has contributed £3.55m through the government’s Cultural Assets Fund, and Historic England £1.1m, of which £111,496 came in August 2025 through the Heritage at Risk Capital Fund. North Somerset Council has also committed its own capital funding to cover risk contingency.
That totals £44.79m of external funding for a structure that was, until three years ago, in private hands and falling into the sea.
How it got here
Birnbeck opened in 1867 to a design by Eugenius Birch, and is the only pier in the country that connects the mainland to an island. It was requisitioned by the Admiralty in the Second World War for secret weapons testing, never recovered its popularity afterwards, and passed through a series of private owners. It was closed to the public in 1994 and has been on Historic England’s National Heritage at Risk Register since 1998.
The RNLI had run a lifeboat station on the island since the pier opened. It was forced off in 2014 when the pier was judged too dangerous, and still operates from a temporary base at Marine Lake.
The council began a compulsory purchase order process in 2019. A public inquiry was set for August 2023, but on 13 July 2023 the owner agreed to sell, and the council took ownership that month.
What it means for you
Do not plan a visit yet. Birnbeck is an active construction site across the landside buildings and the pier deck, and remains closed to the public. Summer 2027 is the council’s target for reopening, not a booking date.
The operator decision is the one to watch. The council says the future operator will need a proven record in financial management, site maintenance, staffing, concessions and events, and that the pier will be run on a not-for-profit basis. Whether local volunteer groups keep a formal role in that model is set out only in general terms so far: council leader Mike Bell has said their strong community connection should continue.
The final phases are not funded on a published timetable. The island buildings and the north jetty sit outside the current programme. Until the Treasury conditions on the £19m are settled, there is no date for them, so the pier that reopens in 2027 will not be the finished article.
If you want the detail, the planning file has it. Drawings and proposals for each phase are on the council’s planning applications pages. We cover weekly applications and decisions across the district on our North Somerset planning news page, and things to do nearby on our what’s on page.
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