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A pier into the future? As work starts on the i360, the West Pier Trust is once more daring to look out to sea

Could a new West Pier be on the horizon? The West Pier Trust is asking members what should happen next now that work has started on the i360.

The trust board said: “Over the past few years the focus of the West Pier Trust has been on securing the delivery of the i360. It will make an important annual financial contribution to the trust through rent and a proportion of the ticket sales. With the finance secure and the construction of the i360 now underway, the West Pier Trust can now look to the next chapter of development of the West Pier site with optimism.” The trust board has floated three options:

1. Do nothing, allowing the “sea island” structure to deteriorate naturally, but otherwise make no use of the site of the former pier.

2. Seek a predominantly promenade pier – ie, a new pier which would prioritise the ability to walk above the water but otherwise contain little or no commercial activity.

3. Seek a more commercial solution – a pier with pedestrian access along its length and a commercial element, all consistent with planning policy and the preservation of key views along the seafront and out to sea.

Members have until Friday 12 September to respond and the consultation will be opened out to the wider community later. The trust flagged up the consultation at the end of last month, hours before fire tore through another pier built by the West Pier’s architect Eugenius Birch.

Firefighters from Preston Circus in Brighton and from Hove were among those fighting the flames in Eastbourne. Meanwhile, in Hastings, there are grounds for optimism that another Eugenius Birch pier might rise from the ashes.

But first the i360 needs to succeed. Much rests on the shoulders of Marks Barfield – the husband-and-wife architectural practice behind the project. Brighton and Hove City Council hopes to make £1 million a year from the scheme. And it hopes to see a revival of the fortunes of Preston Street, which used to be where Brighton and Hove went out for a meal.

“Replacing and renewing our Victorian and Regency heritage is not a new issue”

If the i360 is part of a bigger picture, the same could be said for the prospect of a new pier. A renovation is, of course, impossible now and a rebuild or pastiche looks unlikely. The £46 million observation tower – the “doughnut on a stick” – will be perched next to ten restored arches which opened a fortnight ago. The £5 million outlay will bring in rent for the council and business rates too.

But the shopping, tourism and tax revenue aspects are not the full picture. The ageing arches hold up the A259 seafront road. The hole in the road above the Fortune Of War pub is a warning of a wider problem. Likewise, the closure of the Riptide Gym and the crumbling Madeira Terraces. And the best guesstimates suggest that the council needs to spend £80 million or more to deal with it – from the West Pier to Black Rock.

Politicians and officials are casting around for answers, including where to find the money and how quickly to do the work. A scrutiny report in the autumn may help the picture become clearer. Replacing and renewing our Victorian and Regency heritage is not a new issue. Southern Water has spent years beavering underground to upgrade old sewers – an unlikely tourist attraction in themselves.

A look back in time – to when Steve Bassam was the Labour leader of Brighton Borough Council before it merged with Hove – provides a hint. After restoring the Royal Pavilion, twice, he came up with a seafront strategy. More than 20 years on, the council is refreshing its strategy to make the most of our eight-mile stretch of coast. The old string of pearls needs more than just a polish in places.

Looking back further, Brighton has evolved – from fishing village to fashionable resort, from kiss-me-quick daytrippers and dirty weekenders to university town, conference venue and digital incubator.

A new seafront strategy underpinned by a robust approach to investment is needed to secure the future and continue Brighton’s evolution. The i360 and a possible new pier are just the start.