Photographer to Chronicle Pier Reconstruction

West Country photographer Chris Abbott has been given the task of recording the rebuilding of Weston's Grand Pier for posterity and appointed as the official photographer of the rebuild.

Chris, from Somerset, will be chronicling work on the £34 million reconstruction stage by stage until its completion in 2010.

He will be given unique access to the site by pier owners Kerry and Michelle Michael to create a documentary record of the work.

"I feel very privileged to be involved in this historic project. It's not everyone who gets to photograph a phoenix as she rises from the ashes."

Chris was selected after the pier owners interviewed several local photographers to find the right one to commission.

Michelle Michael said: "We simply liked Chris' work. We wanted someone that would capture the atmosphere of the rebuild as it is an event that will only happen once and we know that images will be so important to future generations.

"During the rebuild there may be opportunities to take pictures that people will be proud to hang on their wall as art and there will be events that show the people, equipment and work methods used.

"He has already captured some stunning images that show the massive piles that are being driven into the sea bed. This is the only time these will be seen on the surface and the pictures capture the scale of the work."

Work to rebuild the pier is on target with support piles for the attraction's new 85 metre observation tower currently being driven into the sea bed.

Father of two Chris, who studied photography at Bridgwater College, launched his business Chris Abbott Photography two years ago.


To find out more about Chris Abbott's work visit:
www.chrisabbottphotography.com


This is just a preview of Chris' work so far on the Pier, stay tuned for new photos of the latest building work!

Grand Pier rebuild back on track!

North Somerset Council and the Grand Pier Company have reached an agreement on a number of issues related to the redevelopment of the attraction.

Since last week when news first broke that there was a problem, the two sides have met every day and negotiated an agreement that means the £34million project will continue in earnest.

Grand Pier co-owner, Kerry Michael said: "We are grateful to the Leader of the Council who personally took control of the negotiations. We have worked through the issues to reach a solution which is acceptable to all. Once the key decision makers were all together, we very quickly reached agreement and after that it was just a matter of putting the relevant professionals together to formalise the agreement.

“All we want to do is to get on with the re-building of the Grand Pier, a project which we hope will be the catalyst for the continuing regeneration of the town."

Cllr Nigel Ashton, Leader of North Somerset Council, added: "Following the fire last year which destroyed the pavilion we have worked closely with the owners and will continue to offer our support to them in their efforts to re-build the attraction."

This means that work on the redevelopment of the Pier can progress as planned and on time in accordance with the original completion date of summer 2010.

North Somerset Council and the pier owners both remain fully committed to the redevelopment of this important landmark site.


-----------------------------------------------

Additionally, we would like to thank everyone for the many messages of support of we have had on our Facebook page, in emails via our web site and also letters received over the last few days.

Save Our Pier!

As some of you may be aware, the Grand Pier is in a battle with North Somerset Council regarding the rebuild.

We do not think this is acceptable and we would like as many of our friends to support us by telling the council just how important it is for everyone that our Pier is rebuilt as soon as possible.

Our ambition is to build the best Pier in the world that everyone will want to visit; most importantly a place that people of Weston-super-Mare will be proud of and, in turn, will make Weston-super-Mare one of the best seaside resorts in the UK.

North Somerset Council are now preventing us from achieving our goal, due to the continuous spiralling costs they are demanding.

We now need your help to save your Pier.


An Official Statement from Kerry Michael (Grand Pier co-owner):

“To enable the new pier to open in time for the summer of 2010 we need to appoint a main contractor to build the new pavilion by the end of June. We fear that we will not be in a position to do that because of a hellish battle we are having with North Somerset Council.

The entire pier project is costing £34million and it will undoubtedly bring prosperity to Weston-super-Mare, and is crucial to the town’s future. Our aim is to build the best pier in the world and for Weston-super-Mare to be a major destination for holiday makers, day trippers and locals alike.

But a series of demands from North Somerset Council, and failure to agree terms with them as adjoining land owners have put the project in jeopardy.

Our estimate of the cost of legal fees for concluding agreement with NSC was originally £20,000, but due the continually changing position of the Council that figure has now exceeded £150,000. Additionally, we are no nearer an agreement today than we were when we started.

Despite personally reaching agreement on costs with the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council two weeks ago, they have moved the goal posts again, and have come back this week demanding we also pay for a gate in their new splash wall and for a seafront traffic light system - adding more than £100,000 to the costs. This is just not acceptable. We fear that even if we agreed to this as well, they will just keep coming back for more and more as they have been doing for months.

We are being charged rent for the beach we are using to get building materials to the pier as the pier waist is not strong enough and rent for the builders’ compound, also on the beach. The council is trying to make a profit out of this tragedy.

The Council is also asking us to pay land management and licence fees, council legal fees, and even the cost of a council employee to keep tabs on us to make sure we are doing everything properly.

North Somerset claims that it is paying half the cost of our coach stop. The truth is that we agreed to pay for whole cost ourselves - until they told us it also had to be used for deliveries, as a bus stop and in fact, anyone could use it. Instead of us building it as we originally offered, it was agreed that they would build it and we would contribute 50% to reflect the fact that it is not now going to be for our sole use. That is very different to their claims that it is paying half ‘for us’.

The perception is that North Somerset Council is bending over backwards to assist us in the re-building of the pavilion but that is not the reality. We originally feared the planning system and to their credit, planning officers dealt efficiently and diligently with our application and it was processed within the expected timescales. But trying to deal with North Somerset as adjoining land owner has been impossible.

We are desperate to re-build the Pavilion and create something that not only we but the whole town can be proud of. Despite the recession, we have pressed ahead as fast as we possibly could to deliver a World class attraction and create more than 200 jobs in the process. If the Council is demanding all these costs because they are trying to be commercial, they should look at the commercial loss to the area if our plans don’t go ahead.”

Please join our Facebook and Twitter pages to get the latest updates!

Grand Pier work on course

Work to rebuild the Grand Pier at Weston-super-Mare is on target with support piles for the attraction’s new 85 metre observation tower due to be driven into the sea bed next week.

So far 22 steel piles have been driven into the sea bed by Commercial Marine Piling to support the new pavilion, which is planned to open in time for the 2010 summer season.

Contractors Commercial Marine Piling is carrying out the work using a specialist jack-up barge brought to site to cope with the high tides. At the same time shot blasting work underneath the pier is also being carried out and replacement of steelwork damaged in the fire that destroyed the old pavilion in July last year.


Image shows the barge next to the Grand Pier.

Contracts for the construction of the new pavilion, which will house exciting amusements and rides for the public, have now gone out to tender.

Co-owners Kerry and Michelle Michael are continuing their worldwide search to find some of the most up-to-date rides and attractions for the new pavilion. But they are also finalising plans for old favourites, such as the Fun House, go-kart track and a traditional helter-skelter.

Michelle Michael said: “Every day sees progress being made and we are working to a tight timescale. So far everything is on course with the piling and superstructure clean-up and we can’t wait for the next stage.”

The Fun House will be twice the size of its predecessor and will be three storeys high with lots of thrills and tricks for those who enter. There will also be “psychedelic experience” where the fun starts by putting on special glasses and entering a world of “mind-blowing” visions from the Sixties.


Image shows an illustration of how the new Crazy House & Psychodelic Trip will look.

Kerry Michael said: “We want this to be the best pier in the world and for that we need to have the best rides, the biggest laughs and the most fun. There are designers and ride specialists working on getting that right for us all over the world.

“The pavilion structure is important but what will entertain local people and also attract people to Weston will be what they find when they go inside. We want to create the fun of a seaside holiday and also an all-year round attraction where local people can let their hair down and enjoy themselves.”

Kissing on Piers...

It started with a kiss. Now Hazel Costin and Jay Preller's romance is taking them on a round-Britain tour from pier to eternity.

The couple aim to have a kiss on every pier in the British Isles before they get married at the end of Weston-super-Mare's Grand Pier where they first met – and they plan to publish a love story with a difference about their seaside challenge

Last weekend they travelled to the Isle of Man to visit Queen's Pier in Ramsey and its locked gates were specially opened so the lovebirds could be photographed having their kiss.

The structure is deemed too dangerous, however, for them to take a walk to the end but the couple hope to return one day - if and when the pier is restored to its former glory.

Hazel, 39, a teacher, and self-employed decorator Jay, 51, initially made friends on the internet but arranged to meet for a coffee on the Grand Pier in their home town of Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, in July 2007.

'We hit it off straight away, becoming "an item" a few weeks later!' said Hazel. 'We had our first kiss on the end of the pier.'

A devastating blaze at the Grand Pier in July the following year and a blaze at Fleetwood a few weeks later led to the idea of the book.

Hazel explained: 'We suggested there wouldn't be any piers left to have a kiss at the end of unless we went round to see them all.'

Ramsey's Queen's Pier is the 35th of 56 British piers they have visited so far and they plan to get married at the end of Weston's Grand Pier as soon as it's refurbished, hopefully in late May 2010.

Their book is provisionally titled From Piers to Eternity.

'We are a bit overawed at all the attention as we didn't expect to be taken this seriously, but have met some lovely people who have made visiting some of the beautiful piers possible!' said Hazel.

During their visit to Queen's Pier, the couple were given honorary life membership of the Friends of Queen's Pier by the group's chairman Fred Hodgson.

Hazel said of the pier: 'It's such a shame – it's the sixth longest pier in Britain. It looks better than we thought it would be. Structurally it's sound. We will return when they save it!'

Jay said he was convinced a use could be found for the pier.

He said: 'If people see a pier they've got to walk to the end – they can't just walk past. Refurbishing the pier will bring people into Ramsey. If they could make the entrance bigger may be they could use it for a motorbike museum.'

A Council of Ministers working party is due to report back in the autumn with its options for refurbishing the pier.

Fred said: 'It is common knowledge that piers are a great draw for the public.

'A few years ago a couple had some of their wedding day photos taken during our open day and now Hazel and Jay have come over to celebrate the part that piers played in their lives.

'Perhaps we have stumbled on yet another use for the pier as a venue for weddings. I hope to see them both back on the Island to walk the full length together in the near future.'

Source: Isle of Man Today