Wood from historic pier to be recycled into furniture

A project to turn wood from a derelict pier into furniture which can then be resold to raise funds for its restoration has been announced.

North Somerset Council partnered with Somerset Wood Recycling to transform material from Birnbeck Pier that cannot be reused.

The grade II listed structure in Weston-super-Mare has been closed for more than 30 years due to safety concerns but is due to be restored during a £20m programme of improvements.

A spokesperson for Somerset Wood Recycling said they were "excited" to make "a little bit of Weston's heritage available for people to own".

The Community Interest Company (CIC), based in Weston-super-Mare, recycles second-hand timber from across the county and transforms it into furniture.

The partnership with the council had been made possible with funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Tom Palmer, director of the CIC, said he was "looking forward to finding a new purpose for timber reclaimed from the pier".

Councillor Mark Canniford said: "Not only does this enable us to repurpose the wood from our much-loved old pier, by working with Somerset Wood Recycling we're able to get the community involved with the process too."

Birnbeck, known locally as 'The Old Pier', is the only pier in the UK to link to an island - a small, rocky piece of land known as Birnbeck Island.

Since its closure it has been battered by storms, partially collapsed into the sea and has become too unsafe for the former resident RNLI lifeboat crews to use.

Building renovations have been carried out on the land-side of the pier, while the 1888 boat house, the clock tower pavilion and the land-side cliff face - all of which are on the island - were also stabilised in 2024.

The restoration project is expected to be completed by summer 2027.

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