Components for i360 tower reach Brighton beach

Steel parts for the world’s first-ever vertical cable car viewing tower have arrived on Brighton beach in preparing for the construction work.

Transported on barge from Rotterdam, Holland, a jacking rig and six of 17 giant steel tubes will help form 162-metre (531ft) i360 tourist attraction, which is due to open next year.

Designed by the people behind the London Eye, Marks Barfield Architects, the steel tubes will fit together to hold a giant, glass pod that will be to fit 200 people inside.

The curved pod will rise from street level to 450ft, giving visitors a 360-degree view of the South East coast for 26 miles.

The i360, which will be located close to the remains of the Grade I-listed West Pier, will be the highest observation tower in the UK, outside of london.

Costing £46.2m, the project is expected to generate more than 440 permanent jobs, and attract over 700,000 tourists which could boost £25m of revenue to Brighton’s economy annually.

A visiting centre will be built at the tower’s base, along with a 400-seat restaurant, shop, children’s play area, exhibition space, tea rooms and conference and event facilities.

David Marks, chairman of Brighton i360 Ltd, said: “Today marks a major milestone in the construction project, with the completion of the foundations and the start of an exciting new phase, when the i360 starts to come out of the ground and reaches for the sky.

“At the end of the summer, we’ll disassemble the jacking frame and we’ll be left with the tower. At that point we can start to build the pod around it and the rest of the building and everything else and we look forward to opening it next summer.”

Julia Barfield, co-managing director of Marks Barfield Architects, said: “Ten years ago, we set out on a journey to bring the i360 to Brighton.

“After all the preparation and planning, it is fantastic to see it all coming together.”