Brighton i360 earnings allocated to fund seafront improvements

The pieces of the Brighton i360 were coming together this week, as the construction of the glass pod in France neared completion, and the jacking tower was removed from the 162m structure at the West Pier site.

This comes as the Brighton and Hove City Council announced that revenue from the attraction, which is set open next year, will be used to improve the seafront surrounding it.

The city council said it intends to to borrow £1.4 million from the government's Public Works Loans Board initially to fund the plan, and the cash would be repaid over 25 years from the council's earnings from the i360 - which it expects to exceed £1 million a year.

Warren Morgan, leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, said: 'The i360 is now being built and has to succeed so that taxpayers get a return on their investment, namely the loan from the Public Works Loan Board approved before I was council leader which is paying for the project.

'I want income that the i360 should generate to be invested back into our seafront infrastructure, including projects like the regeneration of the Madeira Terraces.

'The council no longer has money in the bank to pay for infrastructure projects now, so public/private partnerships, lottery grants, and loans are the only way to bring significant investment into our city and our seafront.'

The cash would go towards landscaping around the Brighton i360. To the west of the i360 would be a flexible event space, and to the east, a piazza would focus on heritage and the West Pier.

Councillors will be asked to approve the idea in a report to the policy and resources committee on Thursday. If approved, landscaping work would start in February for 20 weeks.

At the Brighton i360 site, work continues, and the 60 concrete columns and base for the beach building have also been completed. The focus over the next month will be the completion of the concrete frame by Mackley for the base building at beach level.