The leader of North Somerset Council has strongly defended the restoration efforts for Birnbeck Pier, addressing criticisms aimed at the project’s management and expenditures.
Birnbeck Pier, a cherished Victorian landmark and once a bustling tourist hotspot, has been deteriorating since the 1990s. The council, in partnership with the RNLI, is spearheading an ambitious restoration plan that will revive the pier and establish a new lifeboat station on the island—returning the RNLI to its historic base.
Council leader Mike Bell (Weston-super-Mare Central, Liberal Democrat) posted on Facebook: “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to save a vital part of our heritage, bring the RNLI back to its historic home, and transform a crumbling structure into something we can all be proud of.” He also addressed detractors, stating, “There are those trying to stir doubt and confusion—that’s politics. But what matters are facts and outcomes, not social media noise.”
His comments followed criticism from the Weston-super-Mare branch of Reform UK, which questioned the council’s spending under the government’s Levelling Up Fund. The party spotlighted various expenses: £14,100 on food and beverage advice, £5,700 for a noise assessment, £165,923 on an outsourced project manager, and £4,015 on signage that was reportedly “nowhere to be seen.” They denounced the council for “wasting taxes” and pointed to perceived duplication of project management efforts.
Bell responded by emphasizing the complexity and significance of the restoration: “This is a nationally important project involving coastal engineering, heritage conservation, legal ownership, environmental considerations, and stringent financial oversight. That is why we’ve enlisted the right expertise to handle the work properly.”
Although the project is not funded by council tax, it has received over £5 million from the government’s Levelling Up Fund. Additional funding, bringing the total to £25 million, has come from partners including the National Lottery Heritage Fund, RNLI, and National Heritage Memorial Fund.
Bell reassured the public: “Every pound spent is accounted for. Government funding is ring-fenced, closely monitored, and subject to detailed reporting. We’re collaborating with funders, the RNLI, and technical experts to create a credible, long-term restoration plan—not a quick fix that will fail.”
He concluded firmly: “We won’t let this project be derailed by short-term point scoring. It’s too important.”
Designed by Eugenius Birch, Birnbeck Pier is unique in Britain as the only pier to connect directly to an island. The RNLI gifted £400,000 in 2023 to North Somerset Council to finally purchase the pier after a protracted dispute with previous owners. The charity is transforming the island’s dilapidated pavilion into a new lifeboat station. Currently, Weston-super-Mare—the RNLI’s busiest station on the English Bristol Channel—is operating from temporary storage containers since the pier became unsafe in 2014. The new station will enable lifeboats to launch at all tides from the island once again.