Weston Seafront

08/09/2026

The free drinking water fountain at Marine Lake has been repaired and was re-fitted today (Tuesday 8 September) 💧🐬

The dolphin-shaped fixture on The Cove building was temporarily removed on Thursday (3 September) to enable essential repairs to be carried out.

Thanks to our seafront rangers and local contractors John West for their quick action to get this repaired and reinstated as quickly as possible 👏

The water fountain was installed in 2024 following a successful bid by the Weston-super-Mare Marine Lake Mudlarks for funding from the Sea-Changers charity. The fountain was sourced from Ouronlyworld.

07/09/2026

The third span of Birnbeck Pier’s replacement deck was successfully lifted into place this morning (Monday 7 September) 🙌

A crane weighing 230-tonnes, operating from the 400-tonnes jack up barge moored next to the pier, was used to carry out the lift of span 14 at around 9.30am 🏗️

This marks the latest important milestone in our project to restore the Grade II* Listed pier.

Well done to the skilled operatives working for and on behalf of Mackley, our appointed contractor, for successfully carrying out the manoeuvre 👏

The first span to be installed – which is number 16 – reconnected the pier to the mainland on Sunday 7 June. The second span – number 15 – was then lifted on Thursday 30 July.

There are 16 spans of deck in total that connect Birnbeck Island to the mainland, with span 1 connecting the island to the pier.

Work on the pier deck, which is on track both in terms of time and budget, will continue working outwards from the landside towards the island.

The pier legs, or towers, are structurally sound. Any repair work that is required is taking place in situ as the contractor works along the pier.

Each piece of replacement deck weighs around 30.5 tonnes - that's the equivalent of around five African elephants, the largest land animal 🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘😲

Want to know more? We still have a limited number of tickets available to our free 'Meet the Contractors' event on Wednesday 16 September, 7pm to 8pm.

If you’re interested in learning more about the technical side of the restoration project, this is another chance to hear from our two principal contractors Mackley (pier structure) and Smith and Brenson (landside).

Taking place at The Blakehay Theatre, tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis so pre-booking is essential. A booking link and more information can be found in the comments 👇

The project is part of our ambitious vision for . Our programme is helping to reinvent iconic heritage buildings, support local businesses, create new jobs and deliver a year-round experience-led economy for the future.



Photo credit: with thanks to Peter Barrington.

07/09/2026

Accessible beach walkway trial extended 📣

We installed some black matting at one of the entrances to the main beach in Weston-super-Mare three weeks ago, as a trial of specialist mats to help people with disabilities and reduced mobility access the beach.

The trial is a result of our seafront team working closely with members of the North Somerset Disabled Access Group.

Following a particularly high tide at the end of August, we’re extending the trial for a further three weeks because we want to monitor the matting during the extremely high tides forecast later this week (Thursday 10 to Monday 14 September). The matting will now be in place until Monday 28 September.

So far, we’ve found that once the sand had been levelled and the mats installed, maintenance has been fairly simple during dry weather. We were usually able to keep the matting clear of sand by using a blower.

But you can see from the photos that when we’ve had strong winds and rainfall, it’s caused a build-up of wet sand.

The rain also caused some of the sand from under the mats to wash away – potentially making the area uneven. Our rangers put sand back beneath the affected sections and we’re keen to monitor this for a bit longer.

We’re not going to extend the amount of matting on the beach towards the sea. Based on the very high tide we had, it’s likely the matting would have been covered by water or even washed away.

We’d love to hear from you, particularly if you use a wheelchair. There’s a short online survey we’re asking people to complete – you’ll find the link in the comments 🔗 👇

Once the trial ends, we’ll review feedback from you and our seafront rangers to decide whether to use the mats in the long term.

We look forward to sharing the results and feedback with you when we can.

04/09/2026

We're very excited to welcome Athena Cauley Yu from Meticulous Ink in Bath and Rachel Stubbs for some sand sculpting fun this Sunday (6 September) 🏰🏖️

They're currently taking part in the BBC's Race Against the Tide, the sand sculpture competition show presented by comedian Iain Stirling.

They'll be making some low sand seaside-themed sculptures through the day on the main beach, near to our seafront office.

Pop along to see what they create, be inspired, and have a go yourself!

Click on the post below for more information 👇

BBC Scotland

03/09/2026

Repairs being carried out on the drinking water fountain at Marine Lake 💧🐬

To enable essential repairs to be carried out, the dolphin-shaped fixture on The Cove building is being temporarily removed today (Thursday 3 September).

There will not be a free drinking water fountain available for public use in that location until the fountain is re-installed.

Keep an eye on this page as we will post again once we have more information about how long the work will take to fix the fountain and when it will be reinstalled 👀

The water fountain was installed in 2024 following a successful bid by the Weston-super-Mare Marine Lake Mudlarks for funding from the Sea-Changers charity. The fountain was sourced from Ouronlyworld.

02/09/2026

Marine Lake in Weston – planned temporary closures starting from next Wednesday (9 September) 📣🌊

A series of short temporary closures are planned over the coming months for maintenance at Marine Lake in Weston-super-Mare.

This will enable our seafront rangers to carry out regular maintenance on the two sluice gates. The gates require frequent checks to make sure that they are operating effectively.

During these closures, we plan to:
🌊 Open the sluice gates
🌊 Empty the lake
🌊 Carry out a full visual inspection of the sluice gates
🌊 Carry out routine maintenance, including greasing and removing debris
🌊 Allow water into the lake during a small number of overtopping tides to allow the natural flushing of silt out of the lake. This will enable us to assess the effectiveness of the sluice gates and assess levels of silt in the lake
🌊 Close the sluice gates in time for two overtopping tides to replenish water levels in the lake

No dredging will take place while the lake is temporarily closed, and we don’t currently have further dredging planned.

Dates for your diary 👇

The temporary closures for maintenance are provisionally planned to take place on the following dates:
1️⃣ Lake due to close at 8am on Wednesday 9 September and reopen at 9am on Friday 11 September
2️⃣ Lake due to close at 8am on Monday 12 October and reopen at 9am on Wednesday 14 October
3️⃣ Lake due to close at 8am on Tuesday 24 November and reopen at 9am on Friday 27 November

Keep an eye on this page as we will post reminders before each temporary closure 👀

01/09/2026

Thanks to BBC Bristol for coming to visit and for making people aware of our accessible beach mat trial ☺️

Just a reminder that we also have a beach wheelchair for hire on. You can find out more on the North Somerset Council website here: https://n-somerset.gov.uk/my-services/beachwheelchair

27/08/2026

Great to see more improvements happening 👏

Work started last week (Friday 21 August) to repair and repaint the Madeira Gardens Pavilion structure, helping to enhance and preserve the landmark on Weston Seafront.

This is being delivered by our contractor, Glendale, and is being funded by the council’s annual open spaces maintenance budget.

They are replacing damaged and rotten sections of wood, making sure that the structure is sound.

It will then get a new lick of paint over the coming weeks but maintaining the same green and white colours 💚 🤍

It follows work recently completed to replace the pavilion’s roof, part of our Marine Lake improvement project and ambitious programme.

Thank you for your patience while these improvements are carried out 🙏

We hope you’ll be pleased to see the pavilion looking refreshed and protected for years to come 🫶

We’ll post again once the work has been completed.

25/08/2026

More improvements at Weston’s Marine Lake 🔨

Work is taking place at Marine Lake in Weston today (Tuesday 25 August) to replace the handrail on a set of steps leading from the promenade to the lower apron around the lake.

The new handrail will bring the steps in line with modern height standards and forms part of North Somerset Council's ongoing commitment to maintaining a safe and accessible environment for residents and visitors enjoying the lake.

The improvements at Marine Lake, which re-opened to the public on Friday 22 May, included walkways, installing new public toilets, and improving steps, ramps and handrails and other facilities around the site.

Work to improve the surface of the steps meant that they were slightly higher, so the handrail is being raised to make it easier for people to use.

Thank you for your patience while these works are carried out.
You can still access Marine Lake via the alternative sets of steps while this set remains closed. The works are expected to be completed and the steps re-opened at lunchtime today.

The work at Marine Lake has been made possible thanks to our successful bid from the UK Government as part of our ambitious placemaking vision for Improving Weston. The funding is specifically for this project and we can't use it for any other purpose such as adult social care, children's services or road maintenance.

Find out more about the project at https://n-somerset.gov.uk/business/regeneration-development/north-somerset-placemaking/improving-weston-super-mare

Weston-super-Mare Marine Lake Mudlarks Visit Weston-super-Mare

20/08/2026

📢 We're Hiring!

Are you organised, proactive, and looking for a varied role where no two days are the same?

Our Seafront Team is looking for an Activities, Operations & Finance Officer to help support the delivery of activities, operational services, and financial administration across the seafront.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a busy and dynamic team, helping us deliver great experiences for our visitors and local community.

📍 Based within our Seafront Team.
📝 To find out more and apply check out the link in the comments 👇👇👇

Please share with anyone who may be interested!