FEATURE
L-R: Paul Vidamour, Nigel Dorey and Will Le Lievre
JAPANESE FISHING PAVILION The Japanese Fishing Pavilion has stood as a well-loved structure in Guernsey’s Saumarez Park for more than eight decades. But its dilapidation meant that it had to be closed to the public for safety reasons in 2019. Now, a project spearheaded by the Rotary Club of Guernsey has seen the pavilion rebuilt and set to reopen for islanders’ enjoyment.
Being in the right place at the right time is a well-worn expression, but sometimes it’s a fitting one – and the team behind the restoration of the Japanese Fishing Pavilion benefited from exactly that. With the Rotary Club of Guernsey’s centenary approaching next year, the club was looking for a project to support the island and lit upon the pavilion. At the same time, the managing director of Pauls Joinery, Paul Vidamour, visited the park and decided that after 35 years in business, he wanted his firm to help the community by restoring the structure to its former glory. Both contacted Guernsey’s Environment Department at the end of last year. They were delighted to have the support for the project, and the much-loved landmark was set for a new lease of life. Now the rebuild of the pavilion is complete and the building is set
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to re-open to the public, but it’s taken a huge amount of work to get there. Paul Vidamour said he was determined from the start that they would do a thorough job of creating a precise replica of the previous structure: “Once we were committed to the project, I went to the park and took lots and lots of photos and measurements so that I could start drawing it out on my CAD programme. I worked on it all over the Christmas period, and it took me around 40 hours, but it was complete by the start of this year.” Unfortunately, the island’s lockdown combined with the wait for planning permission meant they couldn’t start work on the project for a few months after that. Once they were ready to get going, it was joiner Will Le Lievre’s job to construct the structure, a challenge he was delighted to tackle: “This has been a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. As soon
