Owner of Weston's Grand Pier to pull plug on rebuild

The co-owner of Weston-super- Mare's Grand Pier says he is pulling the plug on its £34-million rebuild because of a row over cash with North Somerset Council.

Kerry Michael says the project to get the pier reopened for business next summer, after the pavilion was destroyed in a devastating fire last July, has been "a journey from hell" – and says he has been "freaked out" by ever-rising demands for money from the authority.

The council says it has already offered to waive some of its rents, fees and charges but cannot expect the taxpayer to subsidise a private, profit-making company.

Mr Michael told the Bristol Evening Post that in the first six months after the blaze he was never told by North Somerset Council he would have to pay any fees, such as beach rents, as he rebuilt the tourist attraction.

But he said three months ago the authority started asking for money for rent and works related to the rebuilding project – and he says its demands had since escalated.

Mr Michael says he made the council an offer of £80,000 but it wants almost £70,000 more than he is prepared to pay – and he has "had enough of the demands".

He said: "I have said it is over and I'm not going to rebuild the pier.

"I gave them a deadline of Tuesday to accept £80,000 towards beach rents and fees and they didn't even reply to me, they have just ignored it.

"The council leader and deputy leader did agree and shook hands on a full and final settlement of £75,000 the Friday before last or I would not rebuild it.

"But since then they have come up with a new figure of £149,500, which includes the cost of a council employee to monitor our rebuild to protect the interest of the council as adjoining property owner.

"I'm not paying them a penny now and they can explain to the people of Weston why the pier is not going ahead.

"I don't like having the council's hand in my pocket.

"The piling works have started and can't be stopped but I'm not going to appoint a main contractor.

"Dealing with the local authority is the most difficult thing I have done in over 30 years of business.

"I have built buildings across the country and never have I been treated like this; this has been a journey from hell."

He said that his legal fees for the scheme, originally estimated at £20,000, had already reached £150,000 because the authority was "continually moving the goalposts".

Mr Michael said: "Unless the council waives its unreasonable demands, I won't build it and that is the end of the story."

The Weston-super-Mare businessman, who jointly owns the pier with his sister Michelle, said the council first asked them to buy a section of seabed where the new 85-metre observation tower would be built, at a cost of £25,000.

It then wanted weekly rent payments on the base of each of the three cranes sited on the beach, which are being used in the building work.

Further demands were then made for rent for the builder's storage area on the beach, license fees to have the crane and compound in place and then council legal fees.

Mr Michael said that when the council's demands topped £300,000 he "freaked out" and met with council leader Nigel Ashton and deputy Elfan ap Rees, telling them he planned to pull out of the scheme.

He says the pair agreed to a final figure of £75,000 to cover all fees and costs, including a 50 per cent contribution towards a coach stop he had previously been set to pay the entire bill for.

But Mr Michael said the council hit him with another demand this week, asking for contributions towards a £60,000 flood gate and new £75,000 traffic lights in nearby Pier Square.

Mr Michael added: "The council never identified any charges whatsoever at the start of this process.

"Despite that fact, I agreed to pay them more than £100,000 in various trumped-up charges and rents, but each time we reached agreement, they came back and wanted more.

"The money I was prepared to give them has now gone in unnecessary legal fees, so I do not have a budget to pay them anything.

"The point is not that we haven't reached agreement, it's that every time we have, they changed their mind and this is what has cost us so dear and what makes them impossible to deal with.

"If they are prepared to waive their fees, rents and all other charges, I will proceed with the rebuild. Alternatively, I fear it is the end of the road for this project."

The council said Mr Michael was not being treated any differently to other businesses operating around the seafront.

A North Somerset Council spokesman said: "The beach is public land belonging to the taxpayer and it is normal to charge rents.

"Birse, which is carrying out the sea defence work, is paying rent, as does the SeaQuarium and the concessionaires all pay for use of this public area.

"So this is not an exclusive charge to the pier, it's a normal process.

"A lot of money they are talking about should be recoverable from the insurance company, such as the basic cost of the crane and compound.

"We have tried to sort this matter out but at the end of the day we are accountable to the taxpayers; there's only so far we can go without having to seek approval from the full council.

"The full council could subsidise it but that's a decision it would have to make.

"The council has agreed to waive some of the fees in order to help the pier but the bottom line is the owners are not prepared to pay.

"We have made an offer we feel we can justify and that is to say the council will pay 50 per cent of the cost of the lay-by. Because of this lay-by and a canopy for it, it means we have to rebuild the splash wall and install a flood gate, we can't expect the taxpayer to fork out.

"As for the sea bed, they are buying a piece of land that actually belongs to the taxpayer.

"This is a private profit-making company and we can't be seen to be doing deals with a company that intends to make a profit at the expense of taxpayers, unless the full council votes and decides otherwise."