BIRNBECK Pier is to receive another cash boost to help regenerate the derelict structure.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund announced on Monday, October 31, that thousands of pounds will be used to add to the council's cash pile for restoring the pier to its former glory.
A £234,761 development grant will be used for phase two of the regeneration. A phase one cash pot saw the National Heritage Memorial Fund secure £3.55million last week to help reinstate access back onto the island.
Essential conservation works will be carried out on the island in phase two once the boardwalk has been restored.
The money forms an initial support package from the National Lottery that could also see the council apply for a full grant of £4.2million at a later date, on condition that North Somerset Council has secured the keys to the site.
READ MORE: Birnbeck Pier to benefit from £3.5m government funding
Birnbeck is the only pier in the UK to link an island with the mainland and is one of only six grade-II piers surviving in the country. There are four further grade-II structures and buildings located on the island and the landward end of the site.
In 1994 the pier was closed to the public due to health and safety concerns. It was later placed on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register.
Weston's RNLI crew was also forced to relocate in 2014 after more than 130 years.
National Lottery Heritage Fund director Stuart McLeod, said: “Birnbeck Pier is one of the greatest examples of Victorian engineering that we have and it’s imperative we work together to save this important heritage for future generations."
It is hoped the council will succeed in its case to complete a compulsory purchase order (CPO) notice and secure the site so that the RNLI can return to its life-saving operations there.
On Friday (October 28), the pier's owners Birnbeck Holdings Ltd declined an offer from North Somerset Council to purchase the site for £480,000.
It means a possible lengthy court process will now proceed to acquire the land after 'no substantive work' took place to protect the structure for more than a decade.
The council's executive member for placemaking and economy, Cllr Mark Canniford, said: "This money will fund phase one of the project once the initial emergency works are completed, allowing us to start renovating the buildings on the island and the landside, as well as community focused work."
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