RNLI submits application for lifeboat station at Weston Birnbeck Pier

This application runs concurrently with the planning application for the repair and restoration of the Grade II* Listed Birnbeck Pier, submitted on September 23.

If both applications are granted, access to the island will be restored allowing the RNLI to re-establish its lifesaving operations from Birnbeck Island.

This is the safest and most effective location in Weston from which to launch lifeboats at all states of tide.

Permission is being sought by Studio Four Architects, the RNLI’s appointed architect, to:

· Construct a new RNLI lifeboat station on Birnbeck Island

· Widen and regrade the concrete launch ramp to the north of the island

The RNLI is currently based at the Marine Lake (Image: Newsquest)

Since the unsafe state of the pier forced the RNLI to leave Birnbeck Island in 2014, the volunteer lifeboat crew have operated from a temporary base on the plaza next to Marine Lake.

If planning is approved, the proposed new lifeboat station would be partly built within the pavilion ruin.

The scheme utilises the existing walls and openings and is designed to reflect the original pavilion building in a contemporary way.

The layout has been designed in consultation with local volunteer crew and will accommodate both of Weston’s current B and D class lifeboats, launch vehicles and trailers, changing room, crew welfare room, training room, office, and mechanic’s workshop as well as storage.

It will also encompass a visitor engagement space, showcasing the contemporary RNLI.

Andy Wright, RNLI area operations manager for Weston-super-Mare, said: "If planning is granted, a new lifeboat station on Birnbeck Island would provide the volunteer lifeboat crew with the modern, fit for purpose facilities they need to save lives at sea.

"This application runs alongside our first application which seeks to repair and restore Birnbeck Pier, which would provide access to the island.

"These two applications run concurrently to ensure the RNLI’s ambition to re-establish lifesaving operations from Birnbeck Island, the safest and most effective location from which to launch the lifeboats at all states of the tide.

"If granted, and once funding is in place to deliver the rest of the project, the RNLI will launch a fundraising appeal for the new station." 

Councillor Mark Canniford, North Somerset Council's executive member responsible for the Birnbeck Pier project, said: “This month marks the 160th anniversary of the official start of the original Birnbeck Pier project.

"Not only a beautiful and much-loved structure, it’s important to remember that our special pier and island also played a significant role in saving the lives of those living and visiting Weston-super-Mare for more than 130 years.

"It’s therefore very fitting that this latest planning application – for the RNLI to create a new, modern and fit-for-purpose lifeboat station on Birnbeck Island – has been submitted this month."

An RNLI spokesperson said: “Our recent invitation from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to submit a bid for £10m, the highest amount they can award in a single application, shows a continued high level of interest in the project at a national level.

“We have a long way to go but each milestone is a step forward in the right direction for the delivery of the project, which will be of benefit to the local area and local people.”

The whole project – to restore Birnbeck Pier and Island – has been made possible thanks to funding from the RNLI, UK government (formerly called the Levelling Up Fund), National Heritage Memorial Fund, The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England.

North Somerset Council was recently invited by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to submit a fast-frack bid for an additional £10m.

If approved, and the planning application submitted on behalf of the RNLI last month (September 2024) is granted, this money would go towards the restoration of Birnbeck Pier.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund is expected to make an announcement by the end of October.

To find out more about the Birnbeck Pier project, visit the information hub next to the pier or the council’s website at www.n-somerset.gov.uk/birnbeckpierproject.

Required site investigations and surveys mean people might have seen contractors and people in safety clothing on the island, however, for safety reasons it is essential that these visits are done in a carefully managed and coordinated way.

It is an extremely dangerous site, and members of the public should keep away. Birnbeck Pier was closed to the public in 1994 due to safety concerns and has continued to deteriorate.

People are urged not to attempt to walk out to the island at low tide or to cross the pier.