Skegness Fire - Owners Speak Out!
Posted by Angela Gooch on August 20, 2007
The Bola Family, owners of the Skegness Parade Complex recently gutted by fire tell of their future plans in the resort.
Taj Bola said:
“We were here on the night about 11pm. I was in one of the bars having a beer and TK was managing the site. The first I knew was that TK came in and said “Evacuate the whole premises - there’s smoke coming out from next door”.
Everybody was evacuated in three to four minutes. The door staff escorted everyone out. After that we just watched it go up in flames.
The fire engines arrived but basically they just couldn’t stop it.
The whole of the building will be demolished now, it’s not structurally sound. They’ll hand it over to ourselves and we will have to level the site. So it’s basically starting from scratch again.
TK’s car was round the back and at one stage we thought that it would be lost, but luckily the fire crew managed to rescue it.
It’s really devastated us. We put our heart and soul into developing it. It’s not been too long since we had the whole site fully operational. It was the best place in town to be and to have that taken away within a few weeks…
It was running the way we wanted it to - we’re really really lost!
We’re talking with council members etc. to decide what to do. It wasn’t easy getting the site to where we got it to before the fire. We’re just taking stock - should we carry on or should we just pull out. We have had a great deal of opposition from certain members of the business community, councillors, and they made it really hard for us to get to this point, even when they knew that what we were going to deliver was a quality product. I’m thinking, if we’re going to get that again I’m not going to bother. I’m just seeing the lay of the land before we do anything else.
The letters of support which have poured into the [Royal Renaissance] hotel have really humbled us. We never knew there was that much support from every walk of life - customers that came into the pub, local businesses as well, that’s really helped us a lot. We may put some plans in place and if there’s a mass of unnecessary opposition we’ll pull out and say “forget it”, we’ll go somewhere else where the resort’s far more keen to move forward into the next century. That’s our vision.
It’s difficult to put a figure on the project - £5 million, £10 million, could be considerably more. It’s difficult to tell.
My real thanks goes out to the door staff, within a matter of minutes they had everybody evacuated. It was quite busy at the time. The police said we had everybody out in four minutes.A loss of life would have been absolutely tragic. We’re grateful to the staff.
We do have a vision, and if the town pulls together, we’d like to make Skegness into a place which is the best in the country.
That was our vision, and we’ve had a massive setback now.”
Photo: Taj (left) and TK Bola, co-owners of the Parade Complex in Skegness which was recently gutted by fire.
August 20, 2007 at 6:11 pm
my heart goes out to the brothers, and im sure they still cant beleave what has happened, many times i have had to drive down and check i’m not dreaming, i think the brothers were onto something good, i am only aware of such opposition about desire lap dancing club and how they wanted to host a major competion that was the only oppsittion i had herd off as reported in the skegstandard, but anyway,it will be nice if they could rebuild the hotel (maybe use some old bricks and build a memorial wall with for the old hotel building part lost) he had such major plans, and wondered what phase 2 was gonna be, i have many fond memories in what was the beach bar and fat louis, now/was busters and henerys, hope the brothers will have patence and put up with the disgruntled (some not all) locals who should be thinking about the future of Skegness and not the way it was, Skegness in my mind needs a massive restructure, some of which can be put down to the road layout, particly in lumley road, get rid of parking and put a bus cycle taxi lane instead, that is just one idea which i think will ease congestion on that road, maybe someone can suggest a trial 1 year, improve the disgusting train station, get rid of the boards get some glass and put picture in windows that way it does not look deralict, also give it a good jet clean, get some landscappers in to sort the train masters garden looking good, all these could be sponsered or get vollentears to do, or maybe community service criminals to do, if we all work together maybe skegness can get further in to the top 10 of seasides and maybe reach top five or even no 1, that would be a massive thing for skegness, lets get it on the world map not just the uk/europe map, we can do it with a little help of the skegness locals
August 21, 2007 at 1:14 am
[...] Skegness Fire - Owners Speak Out! The Bola Family, owners of the Skegness Parade Complex recently gutted by fire tell of their future plans in the […] [...]
August 21, 2007 at 7:53 pm
My appeal to the council is to ignore the Luddites who are stuck in the 1960s and can’t accept the days of Kiss Me Quick hats are dead and buried. Skegness needs to move forward or it will never compete with cheap foreign package holidays, especially with our unpredictable climate as we have seen in 2007. What is wrong with those who opposed the brothers, are they so short sighted and deluded that they cannot see this? What is needed is a situation like some resorts on the south coast such as Brighton, which are becoming more and more fashionable. This has been achieved by reinterpreting the British seaside resort package so that it has become both unthreatening so families still want to visit, and trendy so that clubbers do as well. The result? Many now CHOOSE to visit the south coast over foreign holidays, as a better nightlife can be had at a resort just a couple of hours drive away. The balance is a difficult one to strike (as declining Blackpool knows all too well) but intelligent, forward-thinking businessmen such as the Bolas are crucial in striking that balance. I wholly understand the brothers’ frustration but would implore them not to pull out. Their ambitious plans are the best thing to happen to Skegness in years and their names could well be mentioned in the same breath as Billy Butlin in years to come, such is the enormity of their vision. This however, will only apply if they receive the support they deserve and their money (a reported £200 million investment) would be snapped up by any resort in this country, wondering why that little East Coast town didn’t snap their hands off when it had the chance. So my appeal is for the council to realise what a great opportunity is staring them in the face and for the Luddites to go somewhere that would suit their vision for Skegness. I hear Eastbourne and Bournemouth are very nice at this time of year.
August 23, 2007 at 12:57 am
sounds like an almighty insurance scam to me (and others) read there statement above again and you will slowly realise that everything is geared up for them to pull out maybe they got in to deep or maybe like some other associates of theres they got in quick, bought cheap,renovated and then claim back up to 5 times there investment on an insurance policy i mean do they look like they holiday in skegness!!!!!!!!
August 27, 2007 at 1:01 pm
To be honest I never liked the lucky strike arcade, it was way too expensive for the machines and crowded full of bandits. The night clubs never appealed to me neither. Im sure many of us will miss the 100 year old building, but living in skegness all summer every summer for the past 17 years grand parade itself to me has been rather bland. There hasn’t been anything there that made me ever go ‘wow!’. The best feature of Skegness to me is The Pier. If the Bola’s changed grand parade to something more family friends and wheel chair accessible than it was, then i think it would be alot better. I like their vision of someting modern, something really modern to make more people come to Skegness, it needs an overhaul, it just seems so samey each year now, there isn’t asmuch impact as there used to be. And with the Dunes burnt down to, its a horrid year for skeg. Even ingoldmells and chapel st leonards are bland now. There needs to be something new otherwise tourism will keep declining.
August 28, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Brian, you’re right about the Bolas not holidaying in Skegness. Seeing as they were born and raised in Burgh Le Marsh, about 5 miles away, it would seem rather pointless holidaying here!! I can only assume by the fact you posted your comment at 12.57am that you were drunk!
August 28, 2007 at 7:01 pm
just like to add my bit about brians comments, firstly please get your facts right about the bola’s, they did not buy the business cheap as you put it, they actually paid more for it than it was actually worth…;..AND THATS A FACT!! they were looking forward to the future of the busines and were not in it to make a quick buck or two. Skegness is at a big loss without the complex, you try going out on a weekend now the complex has gone its just not the same, the other pubs Harveys ect are full of kids and just not the same for a late night drink……….WE need the bola family to rebulid the complex and QUICK as the local night life will slowly fade away..
August 30, 2007 at 10:29 am
v
September 17, 2007 at 2:12 pm
how can it be insurence scam for the bola brothers, the fire started in lucky strikes, which is owned by bell group,
brian you are an idiot man
October 17, 2007 at 12:00 am
The bola brothers have invested more then money into skegness they have invested blood and sweat and more over there hearts. Who has the right to judge that it was an insurance scam, as the other guy said it started in luckey strikes. So what are people trying to say that theres some mass conspiracy to get insurance money come of it.
Skegness has a spirit that no fire could burn out and i truly belive that if thepeople of skegness and the bolas can work together then something even better can be built. No body is saying forget what was there and the history of the sight, but living in the past will mean that skegness will become ashes just like the building. So if you live in skeg then come on guys back the brothers and give the council hell untill they put there ass in gear and rebuild skeggys future.
November 4, 2007 at 12:47 am
i was shocked to here about the fire, i was only in the place about a month before the fire and the refit looked great, i used to dj there in the days of fat louis / strikes/ beach bar, and i made a lot of mates and had some great times, hopeful the currant owners will start again
December 27, 2007 at 6:02 pm
according to skeg standrd they are noy putting the arcade back but i loved lucky strike it has been our familiy spot
January 7, 2008 at 12:05 pm
brain you are a t**t and its going tobe miss by all my kids and me ,skegness just isn’t going tobe the same anymore
January 13, 2008 at 3:25 pm
i know what you mean sarak i am a kid and that place has burned down with our family memories and to say they arnt putting the arcade back it looks like someone may endup burnin the shitland down again