Work to repaid a storm-hit pier on Plymouth Sound is due to start soon.

The cost of emergency and repair work to the Grade II listed West Hoe Pier is likely to be just shy of £1 million.

Phase 2 of the work to reinstate the pier and steps where the outer wall collapsed as a result of Storm Bram last December will begin once listed building consent is approved.

Scaffolding surrounding the pier pulled away by waves at the weekend due to gale force winds is being rebuilt this week, Plymouth City Council said.

Emergency repairs following Storm Bram involved over 300 tonnes of concrete being poured into the heart of the pier, closing the large hole that had appeared, at a cost of around £422,000.

Strengthening work was already underway before this as the pier construction composed of mixed mass stone had become gradually washed out over decades.

Now the more comprehensive repair and restoration of the pier will get underway, once listed building consent is obtained.

Phase 2 will include removing defective grout which has reacted adversely with saltwater and caused internal expansion and structural failure. 

The programme will including recovering historic stone from the seabed to use in the reconstruction where possible, while using modern materials including fibre reinforced concrete within the structure to stabilise the pier core. The project also includes reconstructing the existing stone steps and anchoring them into the pier.

Councillors came under fire from the public for not obtaining listed building consent for phase 1 of the repair works but Heritage England said it was not generally required for like-for-like repairs to listed structures. 

“It is the responsibility of the local planning authority, in this case Plymouth City Council, to determine whether consent is required,” it said at the time.

PCC said this week that “Listed building consent was always intended to be sought as part of phase 2”.

It added that the work was “complicated”  and significant excavation would be required. “Sequencing of the works is important as the pier is narrow, restricting who can work when,” said the council.

West Hoe Pier forms part of Plymouth’s historic coastal infrastructure and contributes to the area’s significance as a designed seafront landscape of national importance. 

Built in the 1880s, the structure has been subject to many repairs over the years because of damage caused by the waves. 

A heritage statement submitted as part of the listed building application says: “Without intervention, the pier will continue to deteriorate, leading to greater harm and potential loss of the asset.”

Council leader Tudor Evans (Lab, Ham) signed a delegated decision in March to borrow £7 million to fix the crumbling West Hoe Pier and carry out other critical building repairs in the city.

However the council indicated that future repairs could be funded by the sale of its assets like the 16th Century Merchants House and the Pounds House mansion in Central Park, the latter of which sold for half a million pounds last October.