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Delay to Brighton Eye project
4:30pm Thursday 20th September 2007
Work to construct a landmark seafront tower has been delayed by four months.
Construction on the i360, dubbed the Brighton Eye, was originally due to start on July 23 and be completed in 2009.
The 172m-high needle tower with an ascending and descending circular viewing platform will be built at the foot of the wrecked West Pier.
It is now anticipated that work will not get underway until the end of October.
Geoff Lockwood, from the West Pier Trust, said the delay had been caused by legal loopholes.
He said they had not anticipated that a process where a 1930s lease agreement which needed to be surrendered or declared void through official channels would be as complicated as it proved to be.
Mr Lockwood said: "We are confident that the project will commence this year despite the delays. All parties are fully committed to going ahead with the work.
"None of it is weather dependent and it will not matter that the pier will be taken apart in October rather than the summer."
The needle tower will be built off-site but the first stage of work will involve parts of the charred remains of the pier being dismantled so it can be constructed.
Plans from London Eye architects Marks Barfield include restoring some of these original parts and including them as part of the final development.
It will be Britain's highest observation tower providing panoramic views across the Channel, along the South Coast and over the South Downs.
The pod, which will be able to hold 125 people, will be more than nine times the size of a London Eye capsule.
The scheme was given the go-ahead by planners last year after the Noble Organisation, owner of the Palace Pier, dropped its objections. The firm had attempted to block any redevelopment at the site.
The trust said it hoped the creation of i360 would eventually lead to a new pier being built.
Councillor Garry Peltzer Dunn, chairman of Brighton and Hove City Council's major projects sub-committee, said: "There is no significant delay in the development of the i360 project.
"The council, the developers and the West Pier Trust are working together to make all the necessary arrangements and agreements that are essential before a development of this scale in such a prominent location can properly start on site.
"Once the agreements are in hand the development can proceed and will, I am sure, provide an iconic landmark which will enhance Brighton and Hove's position as a premier international tourist destination."
Do you you think the Brighton Eye will attract more tourists to the city? Tell us below.
Your Say YourArgus
Rick, Brighton says...
4:43pm Thu 20 Sep 07
Personally, I can't wait until it opens.
happy camper, Bright town says...
4:48pm Thu 20 Sep 07
Stroller, Hove says...
5:20pm Thu 20 Sep 07
BobbyV, Brighton says...
6:40pm Thu 20 Sep 07
But what we could really do with is our very own "Angel of the South" on top of the Downs to welcome visitors as they approach the city from the North.
Please talk to Gateshead Council and Antony Gormley, let's make Brighton really famous.
Paul, Brighton Seafront says...
7:04pm Thu 20 Sep 07
It will be worth the wait and two fingers up at Portsmouth and their tiny tower.
mum, says...
7:09pm Thu 20 Sep 07
wheeze, hove says...
7:26pm Thu 20 Sep 07
One only needs to attempt to drive along the seafront in the summer months to see that this is clearly not the case (a side note - why do B&H coucil ALWAYS arrange for seafront road works to be carried out in the summer and not the winter? The mind boggles...)
In the absence of any viable "park & ride" scheme where are all these new visitors going to park?
Paul, Brighton Seafront says...
7:37pm Thu 20 Sep 07
mum wrote:That might make sense if it were an attraction for just residents. I would daresay that there would be a huge amount of interest from residents alone, not to mention visitors to the city. There is a huge turnover of foreign students and so on.
So how exciting will the view be? 180 degrees of it will be sea. People will give it one go to see where they live and that will be it. I don't think it's enough on its own to bring people here. The London Eye gives you views of something worth seeing. Brighton from above? Have you seen Google Earth?
You are neglecting to mention that you will be able to see the Downs, along the coastline and so on.
Jim, Hove says...
7:46pm Thu 20 Sep 07
BobbyV wrote:Hey, I like the idea of our very own Angel of the South.
Of course it will bring more people to the city, and Brighton & Hove people should be proud of it. But what we could really do with is our very own "Angel of the South" on top of the Downs to welcome visitors as they approach the city from the North. Please talk to Gateshead Council and Antony Gormley, let's make Brighton really famous.
Or anything that Antony Gormley has to offer.
Just look what he's done for other towns.
Come on councillors, have a look into it for us.
Stroller, Hove says...
8:26pm Thu 20 Sep 07
Do residents or visitors want to go up in the air to look at glimpses or Worthing, Newhaven, or, Heaven forbid, Whitehawk?
True, they are better seen from on high rather than the ground, but even so...
The London Eye goes round and round, so that is enjoyable in itself but the up and down of the proposed Brighton one is dull and there is talk of it being £8 a head.
BobbyV, Brighton says...
8:47pm Thu 20 Sep 07
"I shouldn't think Gormley holds Brighton and Hove in any regard after he was downgraded at the King Alfred to providing a couple of litter bins."
Are they MAD?
F, MRA, Hove says...
9:17pm Thu 20 Sep 07
Rick wrote:maybe the money thats being spent on this eyesore?
Rebuild the pier with what money, exactly? This is going to pay for just that.
Personally, I can't wait until it opens.
The whole truth, brighton says...
9:21pm Thu 20 Sep 07
reg moores, Brighton says...
9:58pm Thu 20 Sep 07
Paul, Brighton Seafront says...
9:58pm Thu 20 Sep 07
F, MRA wrote:Eyesore? You must have very high standards.
Rick wrote: Rebuild the pier with what money, exactly? This is going to pay for just that. Personally, I can't wait until it opens.maybe the money thats being spent on this eyesore?
Dave, Brigton says...
9:30am Fri 21 Sep 07
Stroller wrote:Who is this idiot? If good people keep up the pressure, hope can be become reality. I realise Stroller probably tries to provoke with his postings but he comes across as a fool.
As for the West Pier, I see that it is only a "hope" that the pod will pay for its rebuilding. No, it is unlikely the Pier will be rebuilt.
Alan, Brighton says...
9:34am Fri 21 Sep 07
Stroller wrote:The encouraging thing about the post from this jerk is it means we're unlikely to run into him when we try it out and when we take our visitors there. Phew!
I shouldn't think Gormley holds Brighton and Hove in any regard after he was downgraded at the King Alfred to providing a couple of litter bins. Do residents or visitors want to go up in the air to look at glimpses or Worthing, Newhaven, or, Heaven forbid, Whitehawk? True, they are better seen from on high rather than the ground, but even so... The London Eye goes round and round, so that is enjoyable in itself but the up and down of the proposed Brighton one is dull and there is talk of it being £8 a head.
Rick, Brighton says...
11:45am Fri 21 Sep 07
The pier was deemed unaffordable without the development at the on the promenade and the lottery funds. The development on the prom was to be the bit that turned a profit.
By building the i360, there will be a solid, profitable base which can be used to subsidise the re-building and running of the West Pier. Without it, there is not enough investment and not enough future profit to enable a new West Pier to be built.
resident, Brighton says...
11:49am Fri 21 Sep 07
Mike, Sussex says...
12:51pm Fri 21 Sep 07
caeos, says...
4:09pm Fri 21 Sep 07
Also wouldn't it be danger to aircraft on their way to shoreham.
Dont forget the invasion of privacy to all those who want to sunbathe or live below it...
Rick, Brighton says...
4:18pm Fri 21 Sep 07
Dom, says...
6:25pm Fri 21 Sep 07
Stroller wrote:Wrong.
I shouldn't think Gormley holds Brighton and Hove in any regard after he was downgraded at the King Alfred to providing a couple of litter bins.
Do residents or visitors want to go up in the air to look at glimpses or Worthing, Newhaven, or, Heaven forbid, Whitehawk?
True, they are better seen from on high rather than the ground, but even so...
The London Eye goes round and round, so that is enjoyable in itself but the up and down of the proposed Brighton one is dull and there is talk of it being £8 a head.
You only go around once on the London Eye so you do in fact go up and then down on that too. Stop being so anti everything Brighton.
russell parkes, says...
7:59pm Fri 21 Sep 07
davidjones, says...
8:02pm Fri 21 Sep 07
caeos, says...
1:36pm Sat 22 Sep 07
Rick wrote:nearly all air traffic flies along the coastline, and dont forget those planes with the "come and see..." banners
How often do you see aircraft flying over Brighton at 172m above the seafront?!
Stroller, Hove says...
3:13pm Sat 22 Sep 07
But this word makes it clear that any plans to rebuild the pier have not been made. They are not plans, they are a hope.
How long, at what rate of pod-users, will it take for there to be enough money left over from the operator's profit for any rebuilding, on whatever scale, of the West Pier?
Very pleasing if it works out. But that word "hope" sends out warning signals.
There should be no obligation to go up the pod. I am not convinced as many as expected will do so.
Pilot, Shoreham says...
6:07pm Sat 22 Sep 07
caeos wrote:And if you were a pilot, you'd know that over built up areas such as the coast, you aren't allowed that low! So it's not a problem is it! lol
Rick wrote: How often do you see aircraft flying over Brighton at 172m above the seafront?!nearly all air traffic flies along the coastline, and dont forget those planes with the "come and see..." banners
caeos, says...
9:30am Sun 23 Sep 07
Pilot wrote:tell that to some of the pilots though! (eg police and SAR) argus photographers... so lets put up the barrage balloon for a height test, or have that baloon thing that bournemouth has got
caeos wrote:And if you were a pilot, you'd know that over built up areas such as the coast, you aren't allowed that low! So it's not a problem is it! lol
Rick wrote: How often do you see aircraft flying over Brighton at 172m above the seafront?!nearly all air traffic flies along the coastline, and dont forget those planes with the "come and see..." banners
valdez22, Europe says...
1:22pm Sun 23 Sep 07
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A computer mock-up of the i360
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F, MRA, Hove says...
4:33pm Thu 20 Sep 07