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Press Releases
Inside Out West tells inside story of Grand Pier fire
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Regional current affairs programme Inside Out West returns with a new series on Wednesday 17 September at 7.30pm on 91Èȱ¬ One West, telling the inside story of the fire on Weston-Super-Mare's Grand Pier.
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In a candid interview, Michelle Michael, who owns the pier with her brother Kerry, recalls the sequence of events from the moment she was alerted to the smoke rising from the pavilion.
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Michelle remembers looking out of her bedroom window and feeling her heart sink.
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Racing down to the shoreline, Michelle was one of the first people to reach the pier as the pavilion succumbed to the flames.
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She tells Inside Out West presenter Josie d'Arby: "I remember looking at the fire and thinking to myself 'the flames aren't bad; the smoke is only in one tower; it's going to be OK'.
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"As I walked towards the pavilion and got closer to it I had an uneasy feeling when I looked up. I could see some more smoke coming out of the pavilion entrance.
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"At that point, I realised we were in danger of losing everything up there. I think at that point in time I broke down. I felt in pieces to be honest."
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Michelle admits that she felt enormous guilt that she had been unable to save the pier: "I felt very responsible. When you are looking at your business fading away in front of you, at a structure people have looked at for 70 or 80 years, it's something you won't forget."
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Now, the Michaels are turning their attention to how the pier can rise from the ashes.
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A competition has been launched for architects to design a new pavilion to bring back the crowds.
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They want it to be a 21st-century attraction that will draw holidaymakers from all over the country.
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But Michelle says: "In terms of the visual aesthetic I think that the desire of everybody is to see something at the end of a Victorian pier that looks like it should be at the end of a Victorian pier, so anything that looks like a spaceship is probably not going to be for us."
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Inside Out West's cameras are given exclusive access behind the scenes as Michelle meets one of the architects hoping to win the contract.
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London-based Ray Hole Architects have been responsible for a number of iconic visitor attractions, including the Snowdon Summit building currently nearing completion in Wales.
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While it is still very early in the process, Ray Hole has started to sketch some concepts of what a new pavilion could look like.
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His first designs envisage a futuristic chrome and glass "cocoon" powered by wind turbines and solar panels.
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He says: "I always relate it back to a forest. Without a forest fire or a tree falling, new life can't emerge. There's an opportunity here to actually create new ambition and new opportunities.
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"I do like the idea of enclosing something in a total shell. It should be a beautiful levitating object. Nature has a wonderful habit of telling you how to do things."
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Michelle and Kerry Michael are determined that Weston-Super-Mare will fight back from the disappointments of 2008.
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They say that, before too long, construction will have started on a new, more exciting pavilion; bringing a renewed sense of optimism to the area's beleaguered tourism industry. They want to create something that the resort can be proud of for generations to come.
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Inside Out West is on 91Èȱ¬ One in the West region at 7.30pm on Wednesday 17 September 2008 and is also available online via 91Èȱ¬ iPlayer.
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91Èȱ¬ Bristol Press Office
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