ONE of the Weston s best-loved drinking holes and fish restaurants could be knocked down by developers.

ONE of the Weston's best-loved drinking holes and fish restaurants could be knocked down by developers.

The Captain's Cabin, in Birnbeck Road, is to be redeveloped by investors along with The Royal Pier Hotel.

Under proposals to be sent to North Somerset Council, the old pub could make way for a new structure which would be linked to the current hotel building to create a new multi-million pound leisure complex.

A five-star hotel, apartments, eateries and bars are planned for the peninsula, which looks out over Weston's bay and the Welsh coastline across the Severn Estuary.

Birnbeck Investments, which is behind the proposals, has exchanged contracts with the owners of the Captain's Cabin, a favourite haunt for the town's RNLI members.

The company is a partnership between multi-millionaire investor Wahid Samady and Jim Scott.

Mr Samady said: "The pub's name would be retained and given to one of the new bars. The main issue I think is that the north of the town has been in decline for a long time now.

"We are looking forward to seeing the final plans for the new Birnbeck Pier, which we hope will complement our development."

Mr Samady refused to divulge how much had been paid for the pub, only saying that 'millions of pounds' had been committed to the whole scheme.

The investors announced their intention 'to return the Birnbeck area to its heyday' at a press conference at The Royal Pier Hotel before Christmas.

The hotel complex will be designed by internationally acclaimed architects Foster and Partners, the company behind projects including the new Wembley Stadium.

Plans are still at the conceptual phase but a formal application is due to go before North Somerset Council in Spring.