10:30pm Monday 5th January 2009
By Lawrence Marzouk, Local Government Correspondent
The £400million redevelopment of the Brighton Centre will not start until at least 2012 - the year it was supposed to open.
Two major conferences have been booked for 2011 and 2012, which will generate £5million for the city’s economy.
But Brighton and Hove City Council had hoped the new centre, which would be worth £30billion to businesses over 20 years, would open in the year of the London Olympics.
This is the second major delay to the redevelopment, after a previous start time of 2008 was not met.
With building work likely to take a minimum of two years, the decision to accept the 2012 GMB union conference indicates a rejuvenated Brighton Centre cannot open before 2014.
The delay to the Brighton Centre comes after a series of blows to major projects, including the demise of the £290million King Alfred scheme, setbacks for the Black Rock ice-rink and i360, and separate plans for Brighton Marina being shelved and rejected.
Tony Mernagh, executive director of Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership, said: “It is good news that the Brighton Centre is being put to good use while we wait for the redevelopment, but the redevelopment is increasingly a matter of urgency.”
Councillor Ted Kemble, cabinet member for major projects, said he could not confirm the development’s timetable.
He said: “This is a complex project involving many other partners so at the moment it’s not possible to give timescales for the development.
“Things are moving behind the scenes on the Brighton Centre.
“We hope to announce a major step forward in the next couple of weeks.
“Getting the Brighton Centre replaced with a state-of-the-art convention centre is a top priority.”
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