The long awaited i360 tower, due to become one of the main features of Brighton Seafront, moved a step closer to reality this week after Brighton Councillors voted for a way to fill the financial hole in the project. The tower was given planning consent in 2006, but a private backer withdrew £15m from the project last year halting the plans. Now, a new loan arrangement means that work could start as early as June.
The plans to build the 183m viewing platform on Brighton seafront were given the cash boost when councillors agreed to lend £21.4m to the project, in addition to the £14.8m that has already been agreed. A council report said that the project costs had been estimated at £38.8m in July 2012 but that the cost had risen to £46.2m by December 2013 because of inflation and various fee increases.
The i360, which is to be built by the team who created the London Eye, is expected to provide a massive economic boost to the city and it’s tourism industry.
Council leader Jason Kitcat said that the council would take out a government loan for the scheme, from the Public Works Loans Board, and pass that on to developers. He said the move would earn the council over £21m in interest payments and fees, which could be used to repair seafront arches, structures, sea defenses and walls that are currently in need of £70m repairs.
A further £6m of the cost is to come from Marks Barfield, the architects behind the scheme, together with £4m from the Coast to Capital local enterprise partnership.
The project is seen as crucial for revitalising the city’s tourism industry and seafront and would be a clear signal the city was open for business, he said.
The council has said the tower, near the ruined West Pier, is projected to earn three times more than it needs to cover its loan repayments, and if work starts this summer, the tower could open in June 2016.
Council papers estimate that the tower could attract 700,000 to 750,000 customers a year, including an increase in visitors to the city of 165,000 to 305,000, and would be a focal point around which other local businesses could thrive.