Contractor AE Yates arrives at Southport Pier to carry out pre-construction works ahead of its £20m restoration. Andrew Brown reports
Workers are now on site at Southport Pier to begin the £20m project to restore and reopen the Grade II-listed Victorian structure.
This will be led by AE Yates which has been commissioned by Sefton Council to carry out the project and reopen the landmark attraction, which has been closed since December 2022.
Full restoration of the pier is expected to take between 14 to 16 months to complete, with hopes that visitors will be able to once again walk along it next year.
Earlier this year, The Growth Mission Fund panel gave its full approval to the business case submitted by Sefton Council for the full repair of the cherished local landmark.
Opened in August 1860, Southport Pier is the oldest iron pier in the country. Its length of 1,108 m (3,635 ft) makes it the second-longest in Great Britain, after Southend Pier. It attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to Southport every year.
Sefton Council said: “Contractors are on Southport Pier this week carrying out pre-construction works which are required as part of the set up for the Pier’s refurbishment.
“The first task contractors will have is to assess the current condition of the existing paintwork on the structure’s columns. We want to ascertain if there has been any deterioration since previous assessments were undertaken.
“If the condition is good it can be left as is, however if not we will also need to repaint the whole structure as part of the repair works.
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“This pre-construction work will take at least five days to complete. Following this we’ll shortly be moving onto the ground investigation stage within the coming weeks, which checks the stability of the ground underneath and around the Pier for materials like scaffolding.”
Southport Pier’s restoration is among several positive developments happening in the town at the moment including the transformation of the former BHS department store on Chapel Street; the former Leo’s Bar on Nevill Street; the former Southport Visiter offices on Tulketh Street; The Garrick on Lord Street.