The Society urges the Council to work with the pier’s owner and the Birnbeck Regeneration Trust to quickly establish a planning brief for development before it is too late.
Grade II*-listed, 1867, Eugenius Birch
Designed by the leading Victorian pier designer, Eugenius Birch, Birnbeck Pier is the only pier in Britain designed to lead to an island. The pier was damaged by a mine during the Second World War while being used by the Admiralty as ‘HMS Birnbeck’. After years of neglect, the pier closed to the public in 1994 and proposals were submitted to redevelop the island. All of these were rejected by planners, and even the RNLI were forced to look elsewhere when the position of their lifeboat station was considered to be too dangerous. The pier’s new owner, CNM Estates, says it is committed to repairing the pier structure and is working with the Birnbeck Regeneration Trust to develop a practical restoration plan for its listed buildings, which is promising, but storms earlier this year have left one walkway on the verge of collapse. The local council must now help all parties to establish an effective planning brief, ensuring the pier is repaired, restored, and adapted for a new, sustainable use.
Director of the The Victorian Society, Christopher Costelloe, said: ‘We’re grateful to everyone who nominated Birnbeck Pier. Like all the buildings included in this year’s Top Ten, the Pier is a listed building meaning that the Government has recognised its national importance. Birnbeck is one of a kind and deserves better than simply falling into the sea. I urge the public to share the Top Ten list, and Griff’s message, to help raise awareness of these buildings and help them to find the investment they desperately need.’
Status Update / March 2026
More than three years after starting the compulsory purchase order process, North Somerset Council secured ownership of Birnbeck Pier and Island in 2023. Repairs to the island sea wall were started soon after, and by winter 2024 the 1888 boat house, clock tower pavilion, and landside cliff face had been stabilised. The next phase of the project, including the stabilisation, restoration, and renovation of landside buildings and the provision of essential services to the whole site, is expected to conclude this summer, after which the council anticipates repairing the pier structure. Cosmetic work on the island buildings will complete the scheme of work, provided funding can be secured.