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Decision due for tall tower plan Tall tower rises from pier ashes
(about 10 hours later)
A decision is being made on proposals to build one of the tallest buildings in Britain on the site of the derelict West Pier in Brighton. One of the tallest buildings in the UK is to be built on the site of the derelict West Pier in Brighton.
Councillors are considering the £20m observation spire plan and a decision is expected later. Planning permission was granted for the £20m Brighton i360 observation spire by city councillors on Wednesday.
The designers of the London Eye created the plan for the Brighton i360 which will rise 150m (492ft) above sea level. It has been designed by the architects of the London Eye, and will rise 183m (600ft) above sea level.
The Victorian Grade I listed pier closed in 1975 and was reduced to a skeleton by storms and fire in 2003. It will hold about 125 people in an enclosed "pod", giving them 360 degree views of up to 25 miles out to Bognor in the west and Eastbourne in the east.
During a 20-minute ride, the observation pod - which is more than nine times the size of a London Eye capsule - will rise gradually to a height of 456ft (139m).
Work could start on the attraction in early 2007, and it is expected to be open to the public by summer 2008.
It will be located on the site of the Victorian Grade I listed pier, which closed in 1975 and was reduced to a skeleton by storms and fire in 2003.
'Vertical pier'
Hopes of restoring it faded when the Heritage Lottery Fund withdrew a promised £19m the following year.Hopes of restoring it faded when the Heritage Lottery Fund withdrew a promised £19m the following year.
Building the spire would involve the partial demolition of the existing pier structure. Building the spire will involve the partial demolition of the existing pier structure.
The spire will rise 150m (492ft) above sea level
The planning application was submitted by London Eye designers David Marks and Julia Barfield, and the West Pier Trust.The planning application was submitted by London Eye designers David Marks and Julia Barfield, and the West Pier Trust.
The West Pier Trust has said it believes the spire is "in the spirit of the West Pier". The husband and wife team said they were delighted at the decision, and hoped the i360 would become "an elegant 21st Century symbol for Brighton".
It said it would promote regeneration of the Sussex city's seafront and uphold the pier's heritage In a joint statement, they said: "The i360 will boost Brighton's position as a top tourist destination, create 109 full-time jobs, increase tourist revenue by up to £10m and act as a catalyst for regeneration."
And it backed the plan for the spire because it was "elegant, slender and unobtrusive" achieving "maximum effect with minimum intervention". Chairman of the West Pier Trust, Glynn Jones, said the "vertical pier" would be entirely "in the spirit of the pier's history".
If approved, it is hoped that work on the attraction will start early in 2007. The design will include restoration of the original Victorian toll booths and seating, and the creation of a Heritage Centre.
The spire will accommodate about 125 people in a fully enclosed "pod", and could be open to the public by summer 2008.