Grand Pier owner Kerry Michael has revealed his dream for the rebirth of the fire-ravaged landmark to the Western Daily Press.

Today, it's a graveyard of twisted metal girders, shredded flags and the rusting cage of what was once a goods lift, suspended above Weston- super-Mare's skyline.

But by 2010, the horizon will change – wreckage will be replaced by a vertical big-dropper, a thrilling fairground ride, a bigger-than-ever go-kart track, and even circuses and wedding parties. "We've got enough ideas for amusements to fill four pavilions. We'll have all the old favourites like go karts and dodgems, but I'm looking for something new and whizzy as well.

"We're going to put our ideas for new rides together and battle out the final in a big bun fight," Mr Michael said.

What's certain is that the main floor of the new pavilion will be a no-gambling, "family friendly" fun fair.

The old ghost train will be replaced with a modern "dark" ride, and the gaming machines will be located in a separate over-18s area.

The rides that will stay are likely to grow in size. The new fun house is set to be a three-storey "crazy" house with a slide, the free-fall ride will be replaced and is likely to be higher than before, and the go-kart tracks will be a third longer and a metre wider than the £500,000 version that was installed by the Michaels earlier this year.

Pier owners Kerry Michael and sister Michelle also plan to expand the size of the cafe areas. Mr Michael added: "We're not looking at an upmarket restaurant. What I want to see on the pier is what you'd expect on a pier – ice creams, fish and chips, toffee apples, candy floss, tea cakes, traditional afternoon tea."

They also plan to build a "very-modern" theatre in the new pavilion, as well as catering for wedding parties and a circus. "We're doing to the Grand Pier what Volkswagon did to the Beetle. Today, it looks like a 21st century vehicle but if you put it next to the 1960s version, you still recognise it as a Beetle. It's the best of both worlds. Weston pier will still look like Weston pier."

Six architects will battle it out to design the pavilion, and contractors who worked on the London Eye and Wembley Stadium have been consulted. Four of the six architects are based in the South West. London-based architect Ray Hole revealed a sketch of his vision – a chrome and glass "cocoon".

Mr Michael, who will review the designs when they are submitted on September 30, said parts of the site would be three storeys high and could rise to four or five.

"The architects have got a free hand to select their ideas," he said. "But our criteria is that it be environmentally-friendly – as fuel-efficient as it can be, possibly neutral, perhaps with solar panels and wind energy.

"We also want any outside space to be usable 365 days a year so we want covers removable roofs, windbreaks, whatever they can design.

"Whether it's sprinklers or halon gas – I want to be as sure as I can the fire fighting equipment would be sufficient to deal with a fire so that it wouldn't happen again."

After the plans are submitted, the designs will be displayed for the public in the Winter Gardens.

Workmen arrived this week to begin the 10-week clearing process. Already the levelled wreckage of the ice cream parlour, parts of the offices and the front of the restaurant have been cleared.

Mr Michael said: "The demolition is ahead of schedule. If the whole rebuild is not ready by summer 2010 at the latest – I would be very unhappy."

An open-air fairground could be placed on the decking by next summer. Mr Michael said: "If the construction process is projected to take six months, we'll deck the whole place and put attractions up here for next summer. It will be completely different to the permanent attractions and we'll rent rides."

But he added the construction could take nine or 12 months, in which case the end of the pier could be fenced off next summer for building work to begin.

Over the winter and spring months, workers will make sure the grade II-listed structure is in "tip top" condition. "They will clean the steels, shot blast them and repaint them before we build the new pavilion," he said.

Kerry and Michelle travelled across UK and Europe to Drayton Manor, Alton Towers, Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Europe Park in Germany to scout out a new "whizzy" ride to fit in the 60,000 sq ft pier space. He said: "When Michelle came back from Germany she wanted all the huge rides, but you have to remember those parks have acres of land." Next month, they will visit Munich and Florida.

More than a month after the massive blaze, donations are still pouring in.

Three weeks ago, the public donation levels broke the £10,000 barrier. Mr Michael added: "People send cheques from Australia and there's some lovely stories and letters.

"We've commissioned a model now, which will be paid for by all the donations. It's 4x1m and in a big, lit glass case. It's going to be at the museum from when it's ready until we reopen when we will build a space for it here."

Despite the blaze, visitors are still pouring in, and more than 20,000 people visited in just one day in August.

He said: "We attract three million per year – that's more than Alton Towers.

"Weston is the pier and the pier is Weston. You turn onto the seafront and it dominates everything.

"Locally, we're guilty of knocking Weston but we've got a Victorian hillsides and architecture, beach lawns, seven miles of sandy beach.

"Blackpool is busy but it's like a giant nightclub. Weston is it. It's beautiful. And the Pier is critical to the future of Weston."