Southport Pier restoration 'ahead of schedule'

Work to restore Southport's Grade II-listed pier is "ahead of schedule", the project manager has said.

The Victorian pier, which is the second longest in Britain, has been closed since December 2022 because of safety concerns.

It is being restored after the government approved £20m funding for decking boards and timber joists to be replaced, and extensive steelwork repairs.

Dale Cunniffe, project manager from A E Yates, the project construction and engineering company, told BBC Radio Merseyside they expected the restoration to be completed by mid-2028 "but, all being well, we'll bring that forward".

Cunniffe said 40% of the main structure had been removed and they would be starting to replace the steel within the next few weeks.

It was an honour to be working on "such an iconic structure", he added.

"The quicker we can get it reopened and back open to the public the better really," he said.

Cunniffe said new joists and new thicker decking would use Ekki timber sourced from the Ekki Forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"It's one of the strongest timbers we can get actually, and everything we are trying to put down is for longevity," he added.

The pier, which opened in 1860, stretches 1.1km (0.68 miles) into the Irish Sea and it is the oldest pleasure pier in the country.

The restoration work has also seen 27 lighting arches removed and two kiosks and the halfway house taken down to be restored.

These would be going back "aesthetically like for like, however it will be done to a better standard", Cunniffe said.

Sefton Council leader Marion Atkinson has previously said the start of the work in September was "a particularly significant milestone".

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