PLANS for a multi-storey successor to the West Pier were turned down by the man behind the i360, it has been revealed.

Architect Nick Lomax's £60 million pier was set to house restaurants, a hotel and holiday lets and was proposed to stand alongside the seafront tower.

But the plans were turned down by David Marks of MarksBarfield - the company behind the i360 - in 2013.

The revelation was made at a public meeting on the future of Brighton and Hove's seafront at City College on Wednesday night.

The wide-ranging event heard plans for developments including a monorail running from Seaford to Brighton Marina, a car museum under Madeira Arches and the use of the i360 as a giant sundial.

Council officials told the meeting, organised by the Regency Society, that at a time of dwindling public funds it was crucial to attract private investment to protect the city’s heritage and create the next generation of seafront architecture.

Nick Lomax, an architect who worked on the Jubilee Library, laid out a series of exotic ideas.

He said: “I think the key thing is the regeneration of the arches but we need a use for it, so my first suggestion is a museum - perhaps a car museum - or a series of height extended beach huts which could double as residences or hotels.”

His presentation also included plans for a boardwalk on the seaward side of the Volks Railway and a sculptural art gallery by the Hove Lagoon.

But it was his never-before-seen plans for West Pier that got the biggest reaction.

He said “I met with David Marks in the early part of 2013.

“To be fair it would have required no change to the design of the tower itself but it would have needed change to the ground level works and he didn’t want to do that.

“The idea was to create more of a destination and it would have been good to have something else there as well but he wasn’t interested.”

John Regan, managing director of Mr Lomax’s client City Partnership who were behind the proposal, explained that plans had moved beyond the concept stage and discussions took place with council officials.

He said: “The time is right to revisit it, it’s got support now, but we’ve got to be realistic about making it commercially viable.”

Rachel Clark, chief executive of the West Pier Trust, said the plans never had support. She said: “The trust didn’t really want the proposal and I’m sure the planners and public wouldn’t have wanted it either.”