This weekend I wrestled with an elephant.

Not a literal one with giant tusks, deep grey colouring and more than four times the weight of Giant Haystacks stood in a wrestling ring.

No, this was a white one, of which some of you may know the name.

The clash took place on the city’s seafront as I jostled with throngs of promenaders, clumps of cyclists and the odd Lycra-clad runner for space.

Then, out of nowhere, it hit me – the i360 could at last be on its way.

Thanks to this weekend’s Argus, the giant viewing tower was one of the hottest topics of conversations in town.

When the plans for the 175-metre attraction were first unveiled in 2006 they were greeted by many with the B-word – brilliant.

Coming from the team behind the London Eye, here was a project which would transform a neglected part of Brighton's seafront, bringing visitors and their bulging wallets to boost business.

And what made it even more attractive was that it was to be financed entirely by private backers.

But that was then, and eight years on we are still waiting for Marks Barfield to deliver.

At first, the excuses were easy as the recession made potential investors think twice before parting with their cash.

It was not long before others began sniffing around the site opposite Regency Square, which is owned by the less-than-dynamic West Pier Trust.

But those who wanted to build the Brighton O – a spokeless Ferris wheel – were dismissed by city leaders.

Then its smaller successor, the Brighton Wheel, was only given temporary permission to stay in the city while the i360 remained in storage containers across the channel in The Netherlands.

With funding still proving difficult, Brighton and Hove City Council offered to step in and help out an increasingly-despondent Marks Barfield.

Using its powers, it offered to lever in £14 million from the government and hand the cash straight over to developers.

Alongside a £3 million grant from the Local Enterprise Partnership and £20 million of private funding, it would mean the giant tower could get off the ground with the loan being repaid, plus interest, over ten years.

As it is, pigs are currently flying higher with the seafront spot sitting as empty as it was eight years ago.

And still the council continues to believe in Marks Barfield and David Marks.

The last time I spoke to David Marks he was less affable and slightly more tense than in previous occasions.

I'll let him off, though, as it was just after he had admitted to the wider world that private funding for the scheme had fallen through.

He tried to muster some false bravado and pretend everything was hunky dory. But it was clear he was a man whose sky-high dreams had been brought crashing to the ground.

Fast forward four months, and I’m guessing Mr Marks is feeling a little less down.

This weekend’s Argus revealed that Brighton and Hove City Council is to go even further to show its support for the scheme.

The finer details are still being drawn up.

But the few facts that have been gained show that the council is prepared to draw down more than £30 million from the government to help kickstart the project.

Within hours, hundreds of people were lining up throw their penny’s worth of opinion in the coconut shy.

Most continued to be disparaging, questioning the cost and viability of the scheme.

Some called for the money to be used to rebuild the West Pier, another described it as a giant stick with a doughnut sliding up and down.

Personally I prefer cheese and pineapple.

But why the negativity before an idea has even been brought to the table?

For some, the negativity is deep-rooted and understandable given the many false hopes that developers have brought to Brighton.

Others simply don’t like the design or the idea of being propelled in the air to have a bird’s eye view of things.

But many are simply being critical because it suits their politics to lay into the council’s current Green administration.

Did anyone question the then-politicians before they built the Brighton Centre?

Should the city not have bothered supporting Brighton and Hove Albion in its quest for a community stadium?

What about when the former Brighton corporation bought the Royal Pavilion off Queen Victoria in the 19th century?

Let’s all agree that the concept and the benefits that the i360 can bring to the city, are unquestionable.

And the reason we have politicians is because, once in a while, they have to take a difficult decision for the benefit of all.

Let’s give the current Green administration a chance to present their case as to why this project should be supported.

And if the numbers do not stack up then, fair enough, let’s move the i360 from the back burner and into the bin.

But if there is a chance – even a small chance – in these straightened times to bring business and boom times to Brighton, Hove and elsewhere, then our politicians would do well to remember their predecessors who put the best interests of their electorate before being re-elected.