Councillors have approved plans to site three shipping containers next to the i360 temporarily to house a virtual cricket game known as Sixes.
The i360 hopes that Sixes, supported by food and drink sales, will play a part in improving the fortunes of the debt-laden seafront attraction.
A planning application for the converted shipping containers was submitted to Brighton and Hove City Council.
And councillors quizzed Brighton i360 director Ben Barfield Marks when the council’s Planning Committee met to discuss the proposal at Hove Town Hall yesterday (Wednesday 7 June).
The i360 said that “immersive” game was part of a plan to draw more people to the venue, with a chance to “eat, drink and bat” in each of the three containers.
The business needs a hit, having missed a number of repayments after borrowing £36 million through the council and £4 million from the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
The council has taken over the LEP loan and, with interest added, the i360 now owes the council more than £48 million.
Labour councillor Liz Loughran, who chairs the Planning Committee, asked about the public benefit of the i360’s latest proposal, with the business needing to restart repayments of the loan.
Mr Barfield Marks said that Sixes has proved popular in other parts of the country, with venues in London, Birmingham and Manchester.
He said: “We have a good deal. We’re going to be paid a good licence fee. This will be very beneficial for the i360 to help repay the loan.”
Councillor Loughran also asked about the effect on the nearby Regency conservation area of the containers which are due to be clad in dark wood.
She said: “What we’re talking about is more like the seascape in Hastings or Kent rather than Brighton. Did you take that into account that the Brighton townscape is quite different?”
Mr Barfield Marks said that the colour was inspired by coastal buildings nationally, with many schemes using dark timber. The containers would have large windows, he said.
Council conservation officer Lesley Johnston said that the containers were “utilitarian” when compared with the neighbouring restored seafront arches.
She said that planning officers weighed the benefits of temporary use against the harm to the conservation area.
Labour councillor Les Hamilton said that the emphasis of the discussion was on conservation yet the new attraction would not be visible from King’s Road or Regency Square.
He said that he was a member of the Planning Committee “that gave planning consent to the i360 all those years ago” but had not backed the £36 million loan.
Councillor Hamilton said that a lot of work had gone into “trying to help the i360 to increase their revenue” – not just for the council’s sake but also for the public’s sake.
The proposal was “a very interesting activity” and he supported giving it a try.
Green councillor Sue Shanks said: “We do need to see it succeed, even if it is cricket, which isn’t a favourite thing of mine. But some people really like cricket apparently. We shall see.”
She said that it could work well with stag and hen parties – and they were a popular reason for groups coming to Brighton.
This project is the sole reason that BHCC has no money at the moment, so I’m keen to see it succeed, purely for that reason alone.
One horror to help save another horror.
If you’re not part of the solution you are part of the problem in afraid. Let’s try and show some positivity in our city and support efforts to create community and not just sit there as key board warriors. Brighton is famous for welcoming ideas entrepreneurial spirits, artists etc. The world of the NIMBY doesn’t exist anymore Hendrik. Some less bitters in your lime and bitters if I may recommend sir.
Pragmatism is very important as well though. I hope that it will do what it intends to, because the revenue generated paying back the loan to BHCC will allow them to do more to benefit the city holistically.
What patronising nonsense! There is no solution.. that’s always been the problem! There was never a ‘plan B’ and those who gave valid criticism of the (incredibly stupid) idea of the i360 were branded ‘negative’ by people like yourself. Perhaps you need to open your mind, try to be a little more self-aware and actually listen to other people.
I’m all for improvements to that area, but shipping containers, clad in dark wood?
I struggle to understand how a £48m budget was justified for this white elephant. The restaurant was expensive and run by kids, and now looks like it’s closed it’s doors completely. Why would cricket fans want to sit in an expensive shipping container, when they can find many comfortable pubs nearby.
As I understand it Danny, a lot of that wasn’t regarding the building itself, but the foundational work on the seafront.
And the less-than-interesting shop always seems to be empty.
The Green and Tory Councillors put £40M of our money into a loss making scheme with no back up plans. It is making huge losses. There are also issues around privatizing the seafront because i360 is a private company. Will this latest scheme work? Will it help pay the £12.4M currently owed and the approx £2M they need to pay the Council every year? They have also now lost most of their advertising revenue (B.A) and forced the closure of their competitor, the Big Wheel. A very expensive mistake from the start!
What an ABSOLUTE nonsense! Who in their right mind is going to play indoor virtual cricket on a nice su
mmer’s day, when you have the beach right in front of you! Doing it to try to get some money back for the council yes, but not in June! Also, the lift from the upper promenade to the lower promenade NEEDS to be fixed ASAP to help people with prams and disable people to the lower promenade. I was under the impression that it was the i360’s responsability????