AE Yates has removed 27 lighting arches, a kiosk and the halfway house from Southport Pier. New British steel goes in on the landward end later this month.
Southport Pier is being taken apart before it is rebuilt. Sefton Council’s contractor has removed 27 of the pier’s lighting arches. New British steel is due to start going in later this month.
The council set out the progress in an update on Tuesday 8 September (Sefton Council). It is the most detailed account yet of what has come off the structure.
The pier has been shut since December 2022. Structural engineers advised closing it after extreme cold that winter made the decay in its decking worse (Sefton Council).
What has been removed so far
AE Yates, the council’s main contractor, has spent recent weeks dismantling. The update lists:
- 27 lighting arches disconnected and removed
- a kiosk and the halfway house taken down
- a third kiosk in the process of being dismantled
- the existing handrails, tramlines, and mechanical and electrical services taken away
Scaffolding now runs across the landward section, the stretch nearest the promenade, so the timber decking can be lifted. The contractor has also built an access haul road and two large crane pads on the site. Both are there for the next job: installing the new steel.
Steel replacement starts later this month
The council leader, Cllr Marion Atkinson, said the start of steel replacement “later this month will be a particularly significant milestone”.
Dale Cunniffe, AE Yates’ project manager, described the work so far as “enabling works”. He said the firm is “now preparing to begin replacing steelwork on the landward section of the pier”.
Steel is at the heart of the problem. The council’s FAQ blames a refurbishment in 2000. It says that contractor used the wrong screws and the wrong wood, and did not renew the steelwork and fixings correctly (Southport Pier FAQ). Corrosion of the steelwork was found soon after the pier reopened. The council won its case against the contractor, which then went into liquidation.
The same FAQ says severe decay affects more than 25% of the decking boards. Much of it is inside the boards, where it cannot be seen from the surface.
What the £20 million pays for
The money comes from the Government’s Growth Mission Fund. Its panel approved the council’s business case in March (Sefton Council, 20 March 2026). The approved work includes:
- full replacement of the decking boards and timber joists
- extensive steelwork repairs and replacements because of corrosion
- new gates and CCTV
- a long-term maintenance regime
Listed building consent was already in place. The pier is Grade II listed, stretches 3,600 feet and is the second longest in Britain.
Before the grant was confirmed, the council paid for about £300,000 of early design and survey work by AE Yates itself (Sefton Council, 5 February 2026).
When will the pier reopen?
The latest update does not say. The council has said before how long the job would take once it started:
- In September 2025 it put the restoration at 12 to 14 months (Sefton Council).
- In October 2025 it said approximately fourteen months, with work expected to start in early 2026 (Sefton Council).
The funding was not approved until 20 March 2026, later than that early 2026 start. The council has not published a revised programme. We will report a reopening date when it does.
What it means for you
- The pier stays shut throughout the works. The council’s FAQ says so plainly.
- The promenade, Marine Lake and Kings Gardens beside it are open. Our guide to things to do in Southport covers what else is.
- Expect the most activity at the end nearest the shore. That is where the scaffolding, crane pads and first new steel are.
The council says it will keep publishing regular updates. The contractor also gave a longer interview on episode 3 of the council’s MySefton News Podcast.
Sources
- Sefton Council, Major Pier restoration works continue at pace with brand new British steel to be installed next, 8 September 2026, for the dismantling detail, the scaffolding, haul road and crane pads, the steel timing and both quotes.
- Sefton Council: Southport Pier page and FAQ for the closure, the 2000 refurbishment defects, the decking decay figure and the listed building consent.
- Sefton Council, Funding approved for £20m restoration of Southport Pier, 20 March 2026, for the approval and the scope of works.
- Sefton Council, Main contractor remobilised ahead of Southport Pier works, 5 February 2026, for the £300,000 of council-funded preparatory work.
- Sefton Council, Council welcomes full Government funding, 29 September 2025, and repair works could begin in early 2026, 29 October 2025, for the stated durations.
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