Height of luxury

Architects hope it would provide spectacular views across the city and form the focal point of an outer harbour "flotilla" of designer buildings.

The enamelled and clear glass structure, designed by internationally acclaimed architects, would reach 40 storeys into the sky, making it the tallest building in Sussex.

It would sit on a platform over the sea, several hundred metres south of the cliff, acting as a beacon on the seascape.

Although primarily designed for luxury apartments, the tower would contain a public viewing gallery to give everyone the chance to share its views of the city coastline.

It would be accompanied by 13 smaller apartment blocks, which, together with the tower, would provide almost 1,000 flats. Of these, 40 per cent would be low-cost housing for key workers.

The development, whose total construction costs could run to £175 million, would also feature 20,020sqm of commercial space, including bars and restaurants to add to the marina's increasingly vibrant nightlife.

Other highlights include a swing bridge, which would give people the chance to walk all the way around the marina for the first time, a smaller bridge across Black Rock beach to give pedestrians easier access to the development, and a new walkway linking the marina to the Palace Pier.

Brunswick Developments Group, which was submitting a planning application for the proposals to Brighton and Hove City Council today, said it wanted to give the city a landmark tower and offer a "wow factor" that was generally absent from 20th Century architecture.

It paid premium rates to hire top architects Wilkinson Eyre, who were responsible for the spectacular Gateshead Millennium Bridge which spans the River Tyne. Jim Eyre described his design for the Marina tower as "a bold vision inspired by the exuberant nature of the Brighton and Hove seafront."

Brunswick boss Andrew Goodall said: "We have to respect the history that Brighton and Hove has, particularly its 19th Century architecture, the backbone of the city.

"But we have had a very bland 20th Century and there is nothing in Brighton from that period you can point to and say I'm excited about that.

"Now it's 2004 and the city is strong enough to draw in the likes of world-class architects Frank Gehry and Wilkinson Eyre."

The tower would be built on a platform held up by stilts, 8.5m above sea level and 400m from the cliff. In drawing up its proposals, Brunswick undertook meticulous research into storms and sea level predictions. The development has been designed to withstand a 200-year storm cycle.

Aside from creating that elusive wow factor, it is also hoped the development would help regenerate the nearby East Brighton area, which has one of the city's highest unemployment rates. Mr Goodall said it would create 300 jobs for the duration of the project's construction, while 100 permanent posts would be created by new restaurants and bars.

If Brunswick's application is successful, construction on the ambitious scheme, which measures one million square feet in total, could start by the middle of next year. The first homeowners could begin to move in by the end of 2006.

The 396 low-cost flats would be allocated and administered by the Guinness Trust Housing Association on a rental or shared ownership basis.

The cost of the private apartments would range from £200,000 to £2 million each.

Mr Goodall pointed out that the 14 buildings offered the possibility for 14 penthouse apartments.

He said: "There are going to be a number of extraordinary flats that have never been seen in Brighton and Hove before."

The 990 apartments, which would house 2,000 people in a mix of one, two and three-bedroom flats, would be served by 1,000 secure cycle spaces. But there would only be 171 parking spaces for cars.

Mr Goodall said he was confident that existing and planned transport options including the number seven bus, which runs between the marina and Hove 24 hours a day, a 20-vehicle car club and cycle routes would provide acceptable alternatives to the car.

Brunswick's planning application has been 18 months in the making.

The special planning guidance that set out the principles of development for the area, and which stated the marina was a suitable site for the construction of tall buildings, was agreed by city planners last January, and developers have been working on their detailed application ever since.

The process involved 100 consultants from 20 firms, as well as consultation with English Heritage, CABE (the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) and English Nature.

Mr Goodall said he wanted the consultation to continue.

He said: "If it's determined that changes need to be made then changes will be made. We are not coming here with a fait accompli and we are receptive to changes if it's for the better."

Residents have been invited to a series of exhibitions to view the proposals in more detail and meet the architects and developers.

These will take place at Brighton Town Hall next Wednesday from 2.30pm to 5.30pm, at Hove Town Hall on Thursday from 8.30am to 1.30pm and at the marina's Alias Hotel Seattle on Friday November 26 from 3pm to 8pm and Saturday November 27 from 8.30am to midday.

More information can be found on the web site www.brightonmarinafuture.co.uk, which went live this week.

Brighton Marina combines residential, boating, leisure and shopping. It is home to a yacht club and 1,400 berths, a casino, tenpin bowling and cinema, 870 homes, a 71-room hotel, an RNLI station, 24 restaurants and bars, offices, a superstore and 37 shops and a health club.

Brunswick boss Andrew Goodall bought the marina in 1996 and, three years later, sold the boat side of the development to Premier Marinas.

The remaining housing plots were sold to Barratts and the completed commercial scheme, for which detailed proposals are still awaited, was bought earlier this year by XLeisure, headed by French businessman PY Gerbeau.