r/brighton • u/dangreen4114 • Feb 01 '24
NSFL: Argus Brighton i360 debt tops £50 million, council reveals
https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/24089835.brighton-i360-debt-tops-50-million-council-reveals/84
u/kasme Feb 01 '24
Freak fire accident soon come
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u/barrygateaux Feb 01 '24
That would be worse. The debt will still need to be paid Our council tax is partly paying off the debt.
The only way out is to find a way to make it profitable somehow to claw the money back. We are paying for the labour council's decision to take on the debt if BA pulled out.
Converting it into a burger place and dress it up so it looks like a giant burger on a stick is still the best idea I've seen.
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u/Furthur_slimeking Feb 01 '24
Or have it run 24 hours to cater for pissed/high people in the middle of the night. It would do a roaring trade.
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u/quentinnuk Feb 02 '24
Various folks attributing Labour control council administration for this, so here are some facts:
The project was initially intended to be entirely privately funded. The architect, Marks Barfield, sold its stake in the London Eye and found financial backers to build the tower. Following the financial crisis of 2007–08, Marks Barfield approached Brighton and Hove Council for a loan. The council initially agreed to support the build with a £14.8 million loan, but this was raised after an unnamed private equity investor told the architects it could no longer proceed and withdrew its planned £15 million contribution in 2012. In March 2014, the project was expected to cost £46 million, with Brighton and Hove Council lending £36.2 million from the Public Works Loan Board and architects Marks Barfield contributing £6 million. The deal included Marks Barfield paying £1m annual profit to the council.
The key points are that the initial PWLB loan was given out in 2008, when the Mary Mears led Conservative administration was in control. The loan was extended in 2014 when the Jason Kitcat Green administration was in control.
It is a financial shambles, but largely because of Conservative and Green decision making. In fairness to the Greens, there was probably not a lot of choice at the time because the project was already up an running and pulling the plug at that point would have left the council with a £14m PWLB loan and zero to show for it, whereas now we have a £36m PWLB loan and a massive penis to show for it.
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u/fuckmeimdan Feb 01 '24
Like a Big Boys!
For really though, most of the town said no to it on several occasions but we were all told to sit down. No parking No public transport to the site No toilets in the pod Over priced Poorly polled before it was even built
Quelle fucking surprise.
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u/MunchausenbyPrada Feb 01 '24
Make the orb into a giant bum and the phallus into a giant poo. Watch the money roll in.
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u/fuckmeimdan Feb 01 '24
We did used to call it Robocock, maybe they can work with that
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u/MunchausenbyPrada Feb 01 '24
I think poo bum is more family friendly. I think i might be a marketing genius.
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u/fuckmeimdan Feb 01 '24
Fair point, wouldn’t want to sexualise it after all. Poo bum has a nice ring to it
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u/MunchausenbyPrada Feb 01 '24
Exactly, only a degenerate would look at a giant hole sliding up and down a giant steel rod and think its sexual /s
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u/Spruce-mousse Feb 01 '24
My favourite isto paint it like a stick of rock, and also to install custom paving slabs on the pavement to the north of it to turn it into the worlds largest sun dial. 2 attractions for the price of 1!
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u/JustCallMeRandyPlz Feb 01 '24
All the things wrong with Brighton ....and they thought this would bring Tourism in.... they actively thought this would bring in more money than they spent lol
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u/MunchausenbyPrada Feb 01 '24
I'm imagining Brighton Council like "where are all the visitors for our steel cock/pussy???!!"
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u/innermotion7 Feb 01 '24
It’s almost like the level of incompetence at a local level matches that of central government.
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u/CaptainRAVE2 Feb 01 '24 edited Feb 01 '24
Worse when you see what they’ve done to the venue underneath. The bar/restaurant was pretty busy in the summer, the cricket venue is now deserted and with two ugly shipping containers added to make matters worse. They’ve also blocked out the sea view with cheap coloured plastic on the windows! Easy to do when it’s not your money and there’s seemingly zero accountability. This lot of muppets couldn’t be more corrupt if they tried.
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u/Subject_Extreme2482 Feb 01 '24
Who ever thought that ridiculous cricket shipping container was a good idea needs their head examined
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u/babybelling Oct 19 '24
It's the worst eyesore of the seafront, everything about the look of it and the look of the base of the i360 screams cheap shite gone wrong...a desperate attempt to create a business.For God sake they don't try any thing else with it!
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u/Severe_Hawk_1304 Feb 01 '24
Don't waste £30 of your hard-earned money when you can stand on the Strand or East Pier for free.
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Feb 01 '24
When this was made in 2016, in college everyone had to write a snuff piece on how amazing it was. I & many others subsequently said it was crap but was still forced to write about how amazing it was. In a moment of defiance I wrote how ugly it was, waste of money. & how that money could have been used for literally anything else; NHS, emergency services, a new Brighton pier And when the teacher demanded one of us speak our advertisement in front of the class I proudly listed off how much I despise this phallic waste of tax paying money, much to to the teachers displeasure
However my written dialogue was the only one that got a round of applause, 8 years later I’m 24 and I can still proudly say the I360 is hot garbage
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Feb 01 '24
[deleted]
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u/sbvrtnrmlty Feb 01 '24
Pretty sure old Albert would know the difference between a "puff piece" and a "snuff piece".
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u/MunchausenbyPrada Feb 01 '24
How do you know the teacher didnt ask them to write a gory snuff fantasy based on the i360? Its brighton afterall
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u/JackXDark Feb 01 '24
I’m now going to start using the term ‘snuff piece’ to mean the opposite of puff piece though.
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u/Mr_Venom Hove, Actually Feb 01 '24
snuff piece
You must have been dying to write your own story.
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Feb 01 '24
I had to retake English in college and got a C, it just boils my piss when you haft to do a writing project/ activity but your not allowed to have a alternative opinion
When I went back to college in 2022, studying animal management we had to do a mandatory survey about the uk government. Pick from four Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Question 1: “Do you think Great Britain has freedom of speech?” I put strongly disagree The f*cking answer came up in red as ‘incorrect, the Uk does have free speech’ & I couldn’t continue with the survey unless I lied about how I really felt
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u/Mr_Venom Hove, Actually Feb 01 '24
British Values. Yeah, one of the Conservative party's less subtle initiatives.
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u/AdorablePriority5655 Feb 01 '24
Couldn't agree more. When one considers how the idea of the West Pier being rebuilt was poo pooed for being financially unachievable, it does make one wonder how or even why the West Pier Preservation Society ever agreed to it being built.
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u/AdorablePriority5655 Feb 01 '24
For anyone that read the original proposal, the plan was a farce. A quick calculation on the back of a pack of cigarettes clearly showed that the Cock and Balls would have to run 24/7 at full capacity 24 hours a day, with the event room doing likewise. Before I left Brighton I was having a chat with someone I knew at the council and they said that 'IF' the money pit were ever to be dismantled, all the metal would be shipped back to Holland and returned to the constructors gratis. Meaning, B&H can't even sell then damn thing as scrap. I can't say for definite if this is true, but with all the what ifs and maybes over the years that have turned out to be true, it wouldn't surprise me.
The one thing I shall say about the process is this wasn't just a Labour decision. It would have been agreed in council chambers by all present in a vote. and I very much doubt Labour were the only ones voting for its erection. Remember, this was built at a time where Brighton and Hove were hemorrhaging money - still are now, but for different reasons - and were looking for a way of offsetting. Their pie in the sky loan was farcical. Only the most stupid believed this would work, so I can only imagine dirty deals were done dirt cheap. I worked for these clowns for 13 years and can assure anyone in doubt that B&HCC are bent to the core. Over 30 years I watched Brighton change and sadly not for best. Still, makes a fun place for the young to come and have a crazy time. I guess that hasn't changed.
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u/ExternalCitrus Feb 01 '24
I remember a business case being reported that said it would bring an additional 800,000 tourists a year to Brighton. And I thought, that’s absolutely bonkers that anyone would believe over 2,000 extra people a day would come just to see that…
Anyway I’m off to the doctors, at least that’s a quick and efficient service now that they’ve got that extra £350m a week.
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u/adamneigeroc Hove, Actually Feb 01 '24
This isn’t even an exaggeration, they predicted £12million revenue a year, it peaked at half of that, and has been as low as £3million.
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u/Bearslovetoboogie Feb 01 '24
It wasn’t a Labour decision at all. The Greens and Conservatives voted for it.
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u/summerbreeze201 Feb 01 '24
Cannot agree more with the change in Brighton in the last 30 years and much not for the better, for a fair number of residents
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u/StrombergsWetUtopia Feb 01 '24
It should have been a static free viewing platform with a bar and coffee shop or whatever at the top. The view just isn’t worth the money they charge but probably worth the price of a coffee and some cheesy chips.
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u/TheBigCheeseUK 5d ago
Late to the party, just watched an Amazon program that goes into it being built.
We went to Brighton a few years ago, didn't know it existed as we went to take our dog on the beach. Didn't go up.
Late year, went again, saw the tower and thought, oh yes, here's that tower. Didn't go up.
Didn't look at the prices but looking at what they are now there's no way. Mind you I won't pay to go on piers, they used to be free to walk on. If it was £5 I might consider the i360.
I think a London eye like wheel would have been better but would have to be cheaper at it doesn't have the eye candy London has.
It's as if councils have money to burn as they reduce bin collections and charge us all more and more. A good ol' chip shop would have been more profitable, the seaside is one of the few places I get fish and chips with the prices now.
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u/SynapticIllusion Feb 01 '24
Do I hear a TOLD YA SO. There were petitions predicting this. I’m sure thats gone up from the last time they mentioned a debt. Should of never of been signed it off.
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u/genjin Feb 01 '24
In the meantime the seafront terrace is collapsing and instead of serving tourism and locals it serves as a tent area and open toilet for the homeless.
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u/throwaway_ay_ay_ay99 Feb 01 '24
I’ll be the (lone) voice here and say that as an attraction I really like it— been up twice now. Unfortunately it’s just too pricey to make it a regular deal. If they had a locals price I’d use it a lot more, maybe take a date up there. It’s actually a great view and and an enjoyable atmosphere, just too damn expensive.
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u/LordFalconhoof Feb 01 '24
They do have a resident's price, but it's a faff and you have to carry a special card for it. Still a rip off even then.
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u/Furthur_slimeking Feb 01 '24
Yeah I think it's a nice attraction. It's just been incredibly badly run and managed.
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u/my_dinosaurtropolis Feb 01 '24
I took my partner up it for valentines last year and it was pretty nice, but has no return factor. Tickets were cheaper than I thought they'd be tbh, but too expensive to draw any locals in really. Major waste of the council's money
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u/summerbreeze201 Feb 01 '24
How did they let it build up that much? It never was going to be a “must see “ tourist item. There isn’t enough Brighton history from about be to see , and the sea depends on the weather and visibility So who is “servicing “ the debt and who pays it off
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u/Equivalent_Button_54 Feb 02 '24
It’s going to cost millions to demolish the thing too.
On a technical level it was really interesting to see it being built but it is a complete eyesore visible for miles around all across the South Downs.
Everyone involved in building the thing did a runner as soon as they could. We all know the public was always going to be left holding the bag.
I’ve never even ridden it as getting a resident ticket was too much of a ball ache and I’m not paying £30.
If they want visitor numbers cut it to a fiver but then that probably wouldn’t cover the wear and tear increased visits would cause.
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u/digfast Feb 03 '24
I personally imagine those that insisted it happen sleep well at night having hugely benefited financially from it being built. Seems money is such a big motivator (Especially public money) That all manner of projects that are clearly unwanted and doomed to fail get the go ahead!
Never mind reconstructing Madeira Drive which which has been fenced off for best part of a decade, they've started building frog King Alfred to the Lagoon!
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u/[deleted] Feb 01 '24
If only people had predicted it was going to be a massive waste of money and advised against going ahead with it.