Princess visits fire-damaged pier

The pier's owners hope to see the new pavillion open in 2010

The Princess Royal will visit Weston-super-Mare later to see how the fire-ravaged pavilion on the Grand Pier is recovering from damage.

No-one was injured when the fire ripped through the iconic building early on 28 July but black smoke was visible 10 miles away from the resort.

Princess Anne will be shown the plans for its replacement.

She will also speak to firefighters and members of the public who helped put out the flames.

As a result of the fire the owners, brother and sister Michelle and Kerry Michael, have announced some redundancies at the pier.

"Winter maintenance by Grand Pier staff will not be required this year or next," they said in a statement.

"We have redeployed 13 members of staff to our other businesses. A further 13 were offered voluntary redundancy on enhanced terms.

"We are looking forward to the reopening of the Pier in 2010 when many new jobs will be created."

The quarter-of-a-mile-long pier, which attracts thousands of visitors a year, had just reopened in April after a massive revamp.

It first opened in 1904 and was later bought by the Brenner family who sold it earlier this year in a multi-million pound deal to the Michaels.

The futuristic new design for the pavilion, which will be lit at night, was created by Bristol-based architects Angus Meek.