Major update on Roker Pier Lighthouse safety improvements for guided tours of Sunderland landmark

Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee, at a meeting this week, approved a council application for the Grade II-listed structure.

In recent years, Roker Pier and Lighthouse has been closed to the public to allow for repairs to fix extensive storm damage caused by Storm Babet back in October, 2023.

Earlier this year (2025), the iconic heritage attraction officially reopened, meaning tunnel and lighthouse tours can resume which take visitors along the length of the tunnel beneath the pier and up to the impressive lighthouse.

The city council’s regeneration manager recently submitted an application to the council’s planning department seeking permission for “internal alterations to the lighthouse to improve the access within the basement”.

Supporting planning documents said the works aimed to “improve theability of users to use the basement stair by improving the grip surface of the present stair treads and extending the handrailing at the top of the stair to provide additional security, with an additional bulkhead lamp to illuminate the top landing.”

Sunderland City Council’s planning department, in a report published ahead of a decision-making meeting this week, had recommended the plans for approval.

The council’s built heritage officer, in a statement included in the report, said that the “existing stairs are a surviving historic feature that contribute to the significance of the listed building, but the treads are very worn from over a hundred years of use”.

It was noted that “in their current state they present a health and safety concern for those using the stairs, including the volunteers who run the tunnel and lighthouse tours and the public who enjoy the tours.”

Comments from the council’s conservation officer, included in a report, said the plans aimed to “achieve an appropriate balance between conserving the distinctive character of the interior of the lighthouse with practical, largely sensitive additions to make the existing stairs safe for users”.

It was noted that the “existing timber stairs will be retained, thus preserving an important surviving historic feature in situ” and that the “new metal safety tread covers will be fixed with a slender and discreet bolt system to minimise the physical impact on the historic timber treads, whilst significantly improving their grip surface”.

In addition, “extending the handrail at the top of the stair and providing a new bulkhead lamp will further improve the safety and ease of this access route,” planning documents said.

It was noted that “the installations are relatively easily reversible” and that “all-in-all it is considered the proposals will have a minor adverse effect on the surviving historic character of the lighthouse’s well-preserved interior.”

The plans were presented for decision at a meeting of the Planning and Highways Committee on Monday (December 15, 2025) at City Hall.

Council planners, in a presentation to councillors, said while works to the lighthouse stairs were “modern additions” it was noted that this was outweighed by the “clear public benefits of the works”.

The benefits, outlined by the council’s built heritage officer, included “providing safe access for the volunteers and public to enjoy and appreciate the unique qualities of the pier and lighthouse and [to] sustain its role as a key heritage visitor attraction, as well as its role as an alternative stretcher rescue route in bad weather.”

There were no questions or comments on the planning application from members of the Planning and Highways Committee and after being put to the vote, the plans won unanimous approval.

For more information on the plan and council decision, visit Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 25/02465/LB3

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