THE BEST is still to come from a £5 million scheme rebuilding Brighton’s seafront, say businesses celebrating their third year in the revamped arches.

Traders are marking the anniversary of moving into the seafront shop units by the i360 with a celebration day of discounts and entertainment today.

The companies came through an intense bidding process of 200 applicants but the success of the redevelopment can be measured by the fact that almost all of the original tenants are still there.

They have had to put up with a lot of disruptive building work around them, first for the i360 and then almost immediately afterwards, much to annoyance of traders, to restore public spaces.

Now that work is completed, and the i360 is in full flow approaching its first anniversary, businesses are hopeful of reaping the benefits.

Frederique Bailey, of Bailey Contemporary Arts, said: “In many ways it has been amazing. With all the building works around us we have had to take the long-term view that we would be in the best position in two to three years’ time.

“Our approach was not to have too great expectations and there were days when we thought ‘this is ridiculous, they should have waited three years for it all to be complete’.

“But it’s been really positive. We have had interest from tourists, especially since the i360 opened, but we’ve also had a lot of support from local customers. A lot of our customers are people who have recently moved to Hove or who are moving to Hove.”

The area is welcoming more businesses opening this summer as the Brighton and Hove City Council restoration moves to the other side of the i360 reopening 33 more units to be taken by by the West Pier Trust and 64 degrees chef Michael Bremner among others.

The council is hopeful of replicating the King’s Road Arches success with similar sized glass-fronted units in the Madeira Terraces and traders are confident there is plenty of business around to share.

Mrs Bailey said: “We definitely welcome the other arches opening up. Very soon this area will become a destination rather than just a row of shops that have sprouted out of nowhere. Brighton is constantly packed so if retail and restaurants are good enough, they will survive.”

A £1.4 million share of the i360 revenue has been invested in improving the public areas in front of the rejuvenated arches with a piazza and a flexible event space.

Businesses are supportive but say the event space is too sparse and “foreboding” when not hosting events and should be populated with tables, chairs and planters to make it more inviting.