Work has begun on the £20m project to restore and reopen Southport Pier after four years of closure, with contractors already onsite to assess the current level of deterioration before ground investigation begins.

Full restoration is expected to take 16 months and will include the replacement of decking and joists, steelwork repairs, new CCTV and security installations, with funding secured from the government’s Growth Mission Fund.

“The first task contractors will have is to assess the current condition of the existing paintwork on the structure’s columns,” said a council spokesperson. “We want to ascertain if there has been any deterioration since previous assessments were undertaken.”

“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.”

A two-stage design and build procurement process had already been completed and listed building consent secured prior to the allocation of funding, with Sefton Council leader Marion Atkinson stating “the Pier is a symbol of Southport’s identity, history, and now, thanks to the Council and Central Government, secured for the town’s future too.”