News on completion ‘imminent’

THE owners of Weston-super-Mare’s £51 million Grand Pier say they hope an announcement regarding the completion of the project is “imminent”.

Pier co-owner Kerry Michael has been holding a series of conference calls with pier contractors John Sisk and Son about when the landmark will be ready to be handed over.

The work to rebuild the pier started in April 2009 and it was due to be handed over to owners Kerry and Michelle Michael at the end of June.

The brother and sister business duo had hoped to immediately start work on fitting out the pavilion and open the attraction to the public in July.

But the project has been hit by a series of delays and is now more than two months behind schedule.

The Michaels estimate that the hold ups have cost them £1m a month in lost revenue during the peak summer months of July and August.

Mr Michael said: “We have been trying to get a handover date for the pavilion building from our main contractor, John Sisk and Son, for some time.

“We believe a handover date is imminent and as soon as we have that date we will release it.”

The project has been hit by a series of blows over the last several weeks, including news that one of the main subcontractors working on the project had gone bust.

Bristol-based heating and design engineering firm Joyner Morgan, which was the main mechanical services contractor on the pier working for main contractor John Sisk and Son, went into voluntary liquidation last month.

Then it was revealed that the wooden decking around the pavilion, some of which will be used as outdoor seating areas, is already failing despite only being laid over the last few months.

Structural engineers have now been brought in to assess the problem and a busy preparing a report on the integrity of the decking.

The Michaels have already been forced to cancel all bookings up until September 10 because of the delays. They were also forced to cancel a display by the RAF display team the Red Arrows due to take place last month.

They have also recruited around 300 people to work on the attraction either full-time or part-time – the majority of whom are still waiting to start their new jobs.

A spokesman for John Sisk and Son Ltd (Sisk) said the firm is continuing to work in close partnership with Grand Pier Limited in order to achieve the completion and reopening of the pier as soon as possible.

The spokesman added: “Sisk has been working with Grand Pier Limited to meet the scheme’s evolving requirements and address the challenges of an extremely complex project – including addressing the issues over the decking design that have emerged recently.

“Unfortunately, despite our combined best efforts, this has led to delays to the opening.

“We continue to work around the clock to complete the works to return this landmark of Weston-super-Mare back to its rightful iconic place at the heart of the community and echo pier owner, Kerry Michael’s comments that ‘problems aside, the building is really looking good’.”