The Withernsea Pier, Promenade, Gas & General Improvement Co. was formed in 1871. Work on the 1196 foot structure began in 1875 to the design of Thomas Cargill. It opened in August 1877 having cost £12,000. There was a saloon on the pier-head and a large brick-built gateway. Day-trippers from Hull helped generate a small profit.
In October 1880, two vessels collided with the pier during storms. The coal barge ‘Saffron’ destroyed a 200 foot central section of the pier. It was rebuilt using timber instead of iron but storms on 28th March 1882 washed away the pier-head and the saloon. The pier was not repaired but continued in use.
On 20th October 1890, the Grimsby fishing vessel ‘Genesta’ crashed into the pier, destroying more than half of the remaining structure. Now just 300 feet, a further collision by the ‘Henry Parr’ on 22nd March 1893 reduced the length to just 50 feet. This was removed in 1903 during sea wall construction work.
The entrance towers were not demolished and one of these became a coastguard station in the 1950s and, later, a gift shop.
In 2016 the Withernsea Pier and Promenade Association was formed. The Association’s long-term objective is to rebuild Withernsea Pier.
Pier Fact: The entrance building was modelled on Conwy Castle.

In May 2016, a new-look pier was proposed by Withernsea Pier and Promenade Association. The new pier would be attached to the promenade’s existing Pier Towers. The project, which would start with the construction of a viewing platform, would include a renewable energy centre.

August 2018 – Good luck to Withernsea Pier & Promenade Association as they submit plans for the new pier!
Plans for the first phase of an ambitious £8m pier project were ready to be submitted to East Riding Council.
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April 2019 – Good luck for Withernsea Pier as first phase of the new Pier seeks planning permission
Hopes rose that Withernsea’s ambitious £8m pier plan could get off the ground later in the year. A marine licence was granted for the first phase viewing platform, which would now need planning permission from East Riding Council. It was hoped the sub-structure piling could be in place by October, with the viewing platform open for summer 2020.
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August 2019 – Setback for Withernsea Pier and Promenade Association as funding bid is rejected
Torkel Larsen, chair of the WPPA, said: “Having fulfilled all the requirements they set us we were quite confident that we would get the funding from RDPE, and then out of the blue we had a letter saying sorry but we have decided not to fund you because it does not meet with our national priorities.”
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January 2020 – Significant step forward for Withernsea Pier campaign
The campaign for the restoration of Withernsea Pier was boosted by a £125,000 grant from the National Lottery. A further £115,000 was needed for the first stage of the project, which included a viewing platform and seating looking out to sea, but Torkel Larsen, Chair of the project said he was confident the money can be raised.
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May 2020 – Pier towers project secures more funding
In May 2020, the Yorkshire Coast BID provided the Withernsea Pier project with a grant for them to repurpose the internal pier towers. The objective was to turn the iconic towns into a new experience for visitors and help the pier campaign generate income for the project.
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August 2020 – Pier project gets £10,000 memorial donation
In August 2020, the sister of one of Withernsea’s best known characters, Paul Lynas, donated £10,000 to the Withernsea Pier Project in his memory.
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Withernsea Pier project receives £10,000 donation from down-under!
In October, a well-wisher from Down Under came to the aid of plans to build a pier in a Yorkshire coastal town with a surprise £10,000 donation. It was the second £10,000 donation in less than two months and brought campaigners a step closer to their £209,000 target to build a viewing platform as the first stage of the project.
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January 2021 – Celebrations as funding target reached and phase one construction of the new Withernsea Pier can begin!
It was the first of four stages which should eventually see a 500ft pier constructed – less than half the size, but wider than the original structure of 1877, which lasted less than three decades after being hit by a number of ships. Work was scheduled to begin on the viewing platform in March, with the aim of opening to the public in the summer. The main contractor would be UK Industrial Services based near Manchester.
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April 2021 – Delay to the construction of new Pier at Withernsea
Plans to build the first phase of a new pier in Withernsea were put on hold. It had been hoped to start construction work on a viewing platform at the end of March. But the Withernsea Pier and Promenade Association said the project had been delayed after fresh queries were raised by East Riding Council over the proposals. It also meant the cost of the first phase of the project could increase.
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April 2021 – Delay adds £60,000 to Withernsea Pier construction costs
In 2019, WPPA had been quoted £250,000 to complete stage one on a fixed-price basis with contractors. This contract expired in March this year. As a consequence, the cost of the project had surged by around £60,000 to bring the amount required to approximately £310,000. Aiming to conquer this shortfall in funding, the WPPA set up a GoFundMe to kickstart efforts to commence construction this autumn.
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April 2022 – Work to begin on the new Withernsea Pier in September!
In April 2022, it was reported that the first stage of the work, which would take around six weeks involved removing the rock armour, doing the piling and replacing the rock armour. There had been hopes it could get started in the Spring, but the timescale was getting ever tighter, as it had to be completed for the start of the summer season on June 1.
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May 2023 – Plans scrapped for a new pier at Withernsea
May 2023 saw the sad announcement from Withernsea Pier and Promenade Association that the project was “no longer viable” after its two main funders pulled out. The group said it had reached “the end of the road” after seven years of “battle” with landowner East Riding of Yorkshire Council.
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April 2026 – The Pier’s Unfortunate History

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Further Pictures and News are available at
Withernsea Pier and Promenade Association

National Piers Society

Celebrating Seaside Piers

Withernsea

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