WESTON'S newest cinema is set to host a "very special screening" of a film which mirrors the restoration of the town's historic Birnbeck Pier.

Plaza Cinema will screen Grandad & The Pier on Wednesday, March 20, at 7pm.

The film's description reads: "This beautiful, charming, cinematic documentary captures a community project over 130 years in the making.

"On a small island in the middle of the Irish sea, a giant derelict pier juts out into the rough sea.

"Closed for decades, now the town is getting a new lease of life thanks to a defiant elderly population building something for the next generation."

Since it is so topical for Weston, the screening will be followed by a Question and Answer (Q&A) session, so that residents can get a better understanding of how Birnbeck Pier is being restored.

In July 2023, Birnbeck Holdings Ltd agreed to sell the pier to North Somerset Council for £400K, avoiding the need for a legal Compulsory Purchase Order Public Inquiry which was scheduled to take place in August that year.

The purchase, which was funded by the RNLI, meant that the council could start restoring the much-loved structure.

A North Somerset Council spokesperson said: "Plaza Cinema Weston-super-Mare is hosting a very special screening on Wednesday, March 20 at 7pm, called 'Grandad & The Pier' all about Birnbeck Pier.

"Plus there'll be a question and answer session after the film with a panel including our very own Rachel Lewis, our heritage and design manager, and Cllr John Crockford-Hawley, our heritage champion. Get your tickets now!"

Explaining further, a Plaza Cinema spokesperson added: "This beautiful, charming, cinematic documentary captures a community project over 130 years in the making. A wind-swept, tea-soaked, heart-warming film about community, hope and leaving a legacy beyond our years.

"As the subject of the film is so topical for Weston-super-Mare due to the Birnbeck Pier renovation project getting underway, the screening will be followed by a Q&A with Reuben Armstrong (filmmaker), Rachel Lewis (heritage and design manager, North Somerset Council), Simon Talbot-Ponsonby (deputy chairman, Birnbeck Regeneration Trust); and Chris Ware (lifeboat operations manager, RNLI Weston-super-Mare).

"Cllr John Crockford-Hawley, North Somerset Council’s heritage champion and deputy mayor of Weston-super-Mare Town Council will chair the discussion."