A tower crane now stands over the Grand Pavilion in Porthcawl, the clearest sign yet that the seafront landmark’s long restoration has moved from stripping out to building up.
The crane went up this week beside the 94-year-old building, its jib reaching out across the famous dome and clock tower on the Esplanade.
Bridgend County Borough Council says the installation marks the start of the next phase: erecting the steel frame for a new extension and replacing the Pavilion’s east and west wings.
“The Porthcawl skyline has changed! Temporarily at least,” the council said in a post on Wednesday evening announcing the lift.
A 300-tonne crane to lift a crane
Getting the tower crane into position was a job in itself. The council says it was assembled using a 300-tonne mobile crane, which spent the day swinging blue lattice sections over the rooftops of the neighbouring streets.
Beneath it sits a concrete base measuring seven metres square and two and a half metres deep, according to the council, poured to anchor the crane for the months of lifting ahead.
The main contractor is Andrew Scott Ltd, the Port Talbot firm appointed last July whose heritage work includes Tintern Abbey, Insole Court and Dyffryn Gardens.
Before the builders arrived, Prichard’s Demolition had taken the Pavilion back to its original concrete shell, exposing the “concrete cancer” that first prompted the restoration, and asbestos on the exterior had been removed.
What the £22m restoration will deliver
The Grade II listed Pavilion opened in 1932 and has been closed since the project began. The plans restore its Art Deco features, including the clock tower and stained-glass windows, and repair the domed roof with new insulation and the reinstatement of its original marine-themed weathervane.
New additions include a glazed rooftop pavilion with views across the Bristol Channel, a passenger lift, a gallery and new back-of-house space.
The project is being paid for by £18m from the UK Government, secured through a bid by the council and Awen Cultural Trust, with a further £4m from the Welsh Government approved by councillors in March last year.
Awen, the charity that runs the venue, has said it faces a “challenging fundraising target” to fit out the interior once the building work is complete.
Pop-up Pavilion keeps the shows going
While the building is shut, Awen is running a programme of “pop-up Pavilion” events at Awel-y-Môr Community Centre and other venues around the town, from jazz and comedy to tea dances, cinema and family shows.
The council says it is working with Awen and Andrew Scott to “bring the next chapter of this much-loved Porthcawl landmark to life”, with completion still expected in 2027.
The crane will be a fixture of the seafront until then, and with the steel frame next to go up, the Pavilion’s new shape should start to show through the hoardings over the coming months.
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