好色先生TV

Brighton & Hove City Council could borrow almost half of the 拢35m needed turn proposals for a 175-metre seafront viewing tower into reality.

Marks Barfield, the architects behind the London Eye, have so-far raised 拢18m towards the i360 structure, but a further 拢3m loan from the government-backed Growing Places Fund has been agreed from the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership.

Now Brighton & Hove鈥檚 cabinet is being urged to explore the merits of borrowing the remaining funding required for the structure and making a secured loan to the developers.

If members agree in principle to explore the option at a meeting this week, the council said a final decision would be made in July allowing the project to be re-started 鈥渨ithin two or three months and clompleted in two years鈥�.

Officials believe the risks are low while benefits could be huge, with the completed tower expected to attract up to 800,000 visitors a year, generating more than 拢5m in extra spending and resulting in some 18,000 additional overnight stays in the city.

Lead member for culture, recreation and tourism Geoffrey Bowden said the city council would be making a business decision based on regeneration potential, rather than an act of charity.

鈥淲e are proposing this because the project is at such an advanced stage and the developers already have 50% of their funding in place,鈥� he said.   

鈥淭his project being at a standstill is costing the city at least 拢5m a year, blocking completion of the seafront regeneration and preventing lots of other spin-off business taking place nearby.

鈥淏y making a loan, we end those problems, boost public coffers by renting out nearby seafront arches, collect more in business rates, radically smarten the seafront and create hundreds of jobs.鈥�

David Marks of Marks Barfield said the project stalled as a result of the reluctance of banks to lend in current market conditions. 

鈥淲e are not looking for a subsidy or a grant, and we will not put any burden on the tax payer,鈥� he said.

鈥淚 firmly believe our investment in the i360 will be the trigger for a lot more investment in the city, just as the London Eye was for the South Bank. 

鈥淏righton i360 will be a family-oriented, sustainable tourist attraction and much more, as it will fundamentally help underpin the business economy of Brighton and Hove and strengthen its international profile.鈥�

Brighton & Hove said that if there was a default on its loan, the council could take over the site, the business or its assets.