It has taken almost 40 years to happen but the marina has become one of the biggest attractions in Brighton.

Back in the Sixties, the city in the sea was just a gleam in the eye of garage proprietor Henry Cohen.

So much money was sunk into the harbour by financial institutions during the Seventies that by the time it opened, the harbour became the whitest of white elephants.

Even the renaissance, promised when Brent Walker took over in the Eighties, was compromised by that company's financial difficulties.

Now the final pieces are about to be put in what has proved to be an extremely costly and complicated jigsaw puzzle.

The Waterfront development of bars and restaurants promises to be a draw.

Marina bosses are also talking about a new visitor attraction which, if it turns out to be as exciting as it sounds, will prove to be the icing on the marina cake.

While all this on-shore development has been going on, the basic purpose of the marina, catering for yachts, has been successful from the word go and continues to thrive.

Reclaiming development land from the sea in one of the stormiest places in the South, was always going to be a great gamble. It's a big bonus for the new city of Brighton and Hove that at last it seems to be paying off.