The Grade-II-listed Grand Pier Weston-super-Mare has burned down. It was right in the centre of the next bay south from me, facing down the main street between the town centre and seafront, visible all the way around Weston Bay. There’s been a half-mile exclusion zone in the middle of town, but I’ve not been travelling that way today. I go past the pier four or more times a week. It will be very strange for it to be missing. Pictures by a nearby resident really capture the scale of the shock.
The pier is literally an icon, used for the WsM Forum that I help to run for the town. At least those landside towers are still standing. More reaction on WsM Forum.
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1 comment so far
1 AlexH // Jul 28, 2008 at 4:10 pm
In this fortnight’s Private Eye, the regularly pretty good Piloti has been writing (again) about historic buildings which mysteriously go on fire (usually to the benefit of the owner – which I doubt happened here).
From what I’ve read it sounds like an accidental fire via electrical fault or similar in cooking equipment, but it makes me wonder why we can’t protect these historic buildings better.