The pier is popular with visitors and fishermen from across the country

The �1.7m project to renovate Deal Pier is expected to take up to a year to complete.

Contractors will first replace the old concrete surrounding the steel pier supports.

Then the pier's cafe will be refurbished, lighting upgraded and new surfacing laid.

The work is being funded from Dover District Council's capital budget.

Nadeem Aziz, the council's managing director, said making the 50-year-old pier structurally sound was a priority.

The concrete supports have been eroded by harsh weather

"Over 50 years in a harsh marine environment, the concrete on some of these piles has deteriorated to the extent it has peeled away, exposing the steel," he said.

"The contractor will cut away the deteriorating concrete and re-encase it in new concrete, so the structural integrity is good for another 50 years."

Mr Aziz said the attraction would stay open throughout the work.

"We are giving it a new lease of life," he said.

"It's a very popular local facility and a tourist attraction , especially with fishermen who come from all over the country to fish there.

"There is a diminishing number of piers around and historically it has been the subject of quite extensive fishing and angling championships."