Birnbeck Pier, Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, UK. 19th July 2023. The historic Birnbeck Pier in Weston-super-Mare has been bought by North Somerset Council. The £400,000 purchase was funded by the RNLI who plan to build a new life boat station on the island. The council plans to strengthen the “legs” of the pier, restore the buildings, and bring them back into use. Birnbeck Pier, also known as the 'Old Pier', is a pier situated on the Bristol Channel in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, approximately 18 miles south-west of Bristol. It is the only pier in the country which links the mainland to an island, linking to Birnbeck Island, a 1.2-hectare (3-acre) rocky island just to the west of Worlebury Hill. The grade II* listed pier was designed by Eugenius Birch and opened in 1867. Birnbeck Pier is one of only six Grade II* piers surviving in the country but has been sat dilapidated and deteriorating since the 1990s. Owning the pier has been a long-held ambition for North Somerset Council, who were preparing for a public inquiry in August to use compulsory purchase powers to force owners Birnbeck Holdings Ltd to sell them the pier. But on Thursday July 13, the company agreed to sell, avoiding the need for the legal process. According to SomersetLive, John Crockford-Hawley, North Somerset councillor and heritage champion said: “Today is a key date in Weston-super-Mare’s history – a day when we can finally start work on renovating Birnbeck Pier so residents and visitors alike will be able to enjoy it once again.” He added: “We are very grateful to our partners and funders, RNLI, Historic England, Birnbeck Regeneration Trust, National Lottery Heritage Fund, the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Levelling Up Fund for supporting us reach this momentous day.” North Somerset Council was awarded emergency funding of £3.55m by the National Lottery Heritage Fund in October to strengthen the pier’s “legs” and build a new walkway out to the island. A first payment of £234,760 to develop proposals for the reuse and restoration of the pier’s buildings has also been received from the fund. The council will also use £4.4m of the £20m they received from the government’s Levelling Up Fund to restore the pier. Historic England chief executive Duncan Wilson CBE said: “This is wonderful news for Birnbeck Pier. We applaud the Council, the RNLI and many other partners for their hard work in securing its future. It’s great to know that the repair of this beautiful historic structure, one of the most important Victorian piers in the country, can now get under way.”