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365-346 Rebuilding Of The Grand Pier, Weston-Super-Mare, Avon, UK

365-346 Rebuilding Of The Grand Pier, Weston-Super-Mare, Avon, UK

The Grand Pier in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, England was started in 1903. It is situated on the Bristol Channel approximately 18 miles south west of Bristol in the seaside town.

It is supported in true victorian fashion by 600 iron piles, and is 400 metres long. Unfortunatly it has form where fire is concerned. It has been damaged by fire on two occasions in 1930 and 2008.

At 01:35 on the 28 July 2008, a fire at the foot of the north tower on the shoreward (eastern) end of the pavilion triggered the privately monitored fire alarm. The Essex-based alarm monitoring company were unable to contact the key-holder by mobile phone and no further action was taken.

It was not until 06:46 that the Avon Fire and Rescue Service (AFRS) was notified, by this time a hefty blaze was under way. It deployed 13 fire engines, special appliances, and more than 85 firefighters to tackle the blaze, but the building was soon destroyed.

Robert Tinker, a Grand Pier employee, was later praised by the fire service as he braved the extreme intensity of the heat from the flames to rush around the side of the building to remove several gas canisters which had been stored within the premises, had these not been removed the AFRS claim that the fire could have been much worse and with the possibility of needing evacuation of local residents and traders.

Preliminary investigations suggested that the fire started due to a number of deep fat fryers which had been located within the area pavilion, however after further investigation this was later ruled out, as was arson. On 22 October a news conference was held by AFRS who announced that despite their efforts the cause of the fire would be recorded as unknown, but that the most likely cause was an electrical fire.

Workmen began dismantling the wreckage on 12th September and a design competition for the new pavilion was won by the Bristol-based Angus Meek Architects' on 15th October. On 7th December it was announced that a slowly rotating 91 metres (299 ft) tall observation tower was proposed along with the new building.

On 12 March 2009, North Somerset Council approved the plans, which are to cost £34 million. The new pavilion is expected to open in the summer of 2010. On 5 August 2009 it was announced that contractors John Sisk & Son Ltd had been selected to construct the new pavilion and it was hoped that it would be completed by July 2010. These lads are working on the project. Jeff Bonvallet is at the far right.

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(c) Hotpix / HotpixUK Tony Smith - Hotpix.freeserve.co.uk WDCC

Taken in: United Kingdom / England / Weston-Super-Mare (show map)

Taken on: June 3, 2010

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Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, f/13.0, 1/125 sec, 12mm, ISO 250 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Aperture:	f/13.0
Exposure Time:	0.008 sec (1/125)
Focal Length:	12mm
ISO:	250
Exposure Bias:	-1/3 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto bracket
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop 7.0
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