Brighton West Pier chief puts the case for the i360

The chief executive of the West Pier Trust has spelt out the case for the i360 in the Brighton and Hove Independent newspaper.

Rachel Clark was writing shortly after the storms claimed another section of the ruined remains of the pier.

And as Brighton and Hove City Council was preparing a report for a special meeting of its Policy and Resources Committee about using money from the Public Works Loan Board. The meeting is due to take place at Hove Town Hall on Thursday 6 March.

In the current edition of the free weekly newspaper, published yesterday (Friday 14 February), she said: “Damage from the wild weather battering southern England – together with a revised proposal from Brighton and Hove City Council to bring the i360 project to fruition – has focused attention on the West Pier once again.

“In a recent poll, 44 per cent said they would like to see a new pier, 35 per cent wanted the remainder of the old pier to be left to the elements and 21 per cent want the ruins to be demolished.

“It is great the debate is happening and it is clear that everyone expressing a view has strong views about the pier and its contribution to the seafront and the city.

The West Pier – photograph by Nigel Bowles of John Connors Press Associates (JCPA)

“There is no realistic possibility of reconstructing a like-for-like replica of the original West Pier.

“This would be a massively expensive undertaking. The West Pier Trust has no money for this, there would be no Heritage Lottery Fund money available and a private developer would not be able to make it pay.

“The economics of piers today are vastly different from when the West Pier was a going concern.

“The trust, however, is keen to retain many of the Victorian artefacts from the old pier. For example, the i360 scheme would reuse some of the old pier’s kiosks and railings.

“We also want to reconstruct one of the iconic 1866 octagonal pier kiosks as a heritage centre and it would be good to do this to mark the 150th anniversary in 2016 of the building of the original pier.

“There is no long-term future for the remaining structure of the pier.

“Even if it were physically possible, there is no money available to stabilise and maintain the structure that remains.

“That was true before the recent damage and it remains more obviously true now.

“Clearing of the wreckage of the old pier can be done only using funding from a new development.

“This is a big cost because it needs divers using specialist kit. Neither the trust nor the council can provide the money for this.

“At the moment the i360 is the only show in town.

“There is no realistic choice between the i360 and a new pier.

Rachel Clark

“The i360 has planning permission, much of its funding in place and construction could start within months, opening in two years’ time.

“Nobody has a realistic plan for a new pier. Even with a viable scheme and funding to build it, it would take between five and ten years before we saw any result.

“What the i360 does do is make a new pier possible in the future.

“The funding received by the West Pier Trust from i360 will enable it to meet its responsibilities to clear the wreckage and explore with architects and developers the opportunities for a 21st-century pier. Also, extra visitors attracted by i360 will make any new pier much more viable.

“The i360 will not cost the council-tax-payer a penny.

“Marks Barfield, the developers of i360, are putting millions of their own money into the scheme and more will be provided by the (Coast to Capital) Local Enterprise Partnership.

“The deal being proposed by the council is using a funding mechanism encouraged by this and the last government to lever in private investment with very little risk.

“This is because the council is borrowing from the Public Works Loan Board at one rate and then lending it on at a higher rate to the development.

“This kind of proposal is now being used by hundreds of councils across the country because of the unwillingness of the banks and other investors to lend.

“The deal would not take one penny away from the council’s increasingly restricted budget and would actually provide it with an income of more than £1 million per year.

“There is ambition for a new pier.

“There is the opportunity to design and build a pier for the 21st century as innovative as the West Pier was in 1866.

“It will not be straightforward to come up with a proposal that meets everyone’s aspirations, is economically viable and will be an elegant addition to the seafront.

“We are currently working on options for a new pier and will share our thoughts with all interested parties in due course.

“But that should not take people’s eye off achieving the i360. And it will not happen overnight. The i360 will make a new pier more likely, not less.”