I must confess that the advent of the i360 passed me by, but it seems much ado about nothing, over-hyped and overpriced.

It’s called an Observation Tower serviced by a spinning elevator, sorry, viewing pod.

My friend Jean Calder terms it a giant phallus.

What I do know is that the council is borrowing £36.2m from the Public Loans Works Board in the hope it can then re-loan it to the Marks Barfield group at a higher rate of interest and make £1m a year.

All this depends on customer numbers.

But the best laid plans of men and mice often go awry. What if demand is less than expected?

The council of course is very confident that Brighton council taxpayers won’t be left footing the bill, but what makes me wonder is why those behind the i360 have been so insistent that the Brighton Wheel must go.

Why, if people are in danger of being crushed in the rush to travel in the i360 pod, are they so scared of competition?

I must confess that I have taken my children twice to the Brighton Wheel but why should that deter me from travelling on the i360?

Perhaps one reason is that it is ill-thought out.

The Seattle Needle, which I’ve also visited and is around the same height, has a restaurant at the top, shops etc.

You can make your own decision as to when you descend.

The i360 seems to be an overpriced elevator and nothing like the ‘heritage centre’ it describes itself as.

  • Tony Greenstein is a political activist