nickbrighton
Well-known member
- Feb 19, 2016
- 2,143
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[Brighton] i360 filing for administration
- Thread starter nickbrighton
- Start date
Well, I for one, am SHOCKED.
It always seemed such a solid business plan.
It always seemed such a solid business plan.
It’s certainly had its ups and downs.
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Man of Harveys
Well-known member
Right, rebuild the West Pier which is what they should have done in the first place. Silly really.
Shame as it’s a welcome addition to the seafront. I’m sure something positive will materialize.
Algernon
Well-known member
Will anyone be prosecuted for wasting so much money on this folly?
Hotchilidog
Well-known member
- Jan 24, 2009
- 9,130
I'm sure there will be plenty of people delighted by this news, but I will not be amongst their number. I really like the i360 it's a unique addition to the Brighton skyline. For me it just needs an operator that has experience with running tourist attractions.
queens park pete
Prog off!
Why didn't we build a Simpsons style monorail?
I was going to say exactly that. And none of us are being wise after the event, we all said it at the start: it was a stupid idea, mainly because almost everything you can see from the i360 you can also see from Hollingbury hill fort. And, whisper it, the view isn't that special anyway. There's a lot sea, and there's Brighton and Hove, but it's not as if you can see Sydney opera house, the hanging gardens of Babylon or herds of wilderbeest sweeping majestically across the African savannah.
PS - I've been on it and it was fine. But having been on it I've no reason to go again. Perhaps they can put the big wheel back? More than the stupidity of the i360 idea I was more pissed off that one of the conditions was they had to close the big wheel by the Palace pier. Now that we went on several times.
LamieRobertson
Not awoke
At makes you so certain?
Nobby Cybergoat
Well-known member
- Jul 19, 2021
- 8,632
It's a sad day for our city. Rightly or wrongly, we hitched ourselves to this project working. We should all be wishing it well, even if you were far sighted enough to predict this in advance. In my mind the people behind the project had a credible track record and I understand the reasons why the council at the time decided the risk was worth taking
And it's all very well saying we should rebuilt the west pier. Who should rebuild the west pier? Is there a private funding source lining up to do this? Or are we saying the tax payer should be doing this? Not every option is always on the table
And it's all very well saying we should rebuilt the west pier. Who should rebuild the west pier? Is there a private funding source lining up to do this? Or are we saying the tax payer should be doing this? Not every option is always on the table
Maybe they could install a Spoons at the top?
Maybe we could sell it to the town council of Torquay?
Well I'm not delighted. I'm angry that so much money was pissed away on something that, whilst it's a great concept, wasn't the right attraction for an English seaside town. And no 'experienced' operator can change that fact: great idea, wrong location. (If they'd built it where the wheel was it might have fared better as that's more central. But obviously that was impossible).
EDIT: I wouldn't have minded so much if was just someone like Richard Branson losing money. But it's a lot of our money as well.
EDIT2: And why do you think no experienced tourist operator has ever come forward to make a bid for it? Because it's a huge white elephant. (Maybe they will now if they can get it for buttons).
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thedonkeycentrehalf
Moved back to wear the gloves (again)
- Jul 7, 2003
- 9,357
The Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth is always fun. You get people on one side looking over the dockyards, the harbour and the view across to the Isle of Wight. Thenb they walk to the other side, take one look at the view of Fratton and quickly go back to looking at the Isle Wight again
Yes, I wasn't being 100% serious with the suggestion to rebuild the West Pier, I do think that ship has sailed. Now a monorail though ...
Mustafa II
Well-known member
I like the i360 as a tourist attraction and even as part of the Brighton skyline. I've been on it once as a resident shortly after it first opened - but I have no real interest in going on it again. I probably would, if I was showing non-local friends or family a day out in the city for example.
It is not surprising it has failed as a business. It has been unlucky (COVID, weather, etc) and poorly run, poorly marketed.
My only concern with it is how much it has actually cost the city. I predict our council tax will increase by 5% or whatever the maximum allowed is every year regardless, but it would be nice to know that the council can recoup the money lent, or somehow benefit from the debt, so that it can be reinvested into the city.
Does anyone here ITK have more info about how much has cost the council, and whether the city is likely to benefit from the debt in the future?
It is not surprising it has failed as a business. It has been unlucky (COVID, weather, etc) and poorly run, poorly marketed.
My only concern with it is how much it has actually cost the city. I predict our council tax will increase by 5% or whatever the maximum allowed is every year regardless, but it would be nice to know that the council can recoup the money lent, or somehow benefit from the debt, so that it can be reinvested into the city.
Does anyone here ITK have more info about how much has cost the council, and whether the city is likely to benefit from the debt in the future?
Official Old Man
Uckfield Seagull
As someone with businesses on Brighton seafront and knowing most who have the shops along the prom, we knew when we saw the paperwork years before it was built that it would never work.
They based their figures on 10 million visitors to Brighton every year - correct
But they then said a percentage would want to go on the i360 - correct
What they didn't realise is that of the 10 million, 6 million come every year. Therefor by year 4 the % of new visitors who had not been on the i360 was low.
Next is the 'exit through the gift shop' and this is my expert department. They sold nothing that showed Brighton. Everything was British Airways i360 when tourists want Brighton Rock and Gifts. Look at the Cafe/Restaurant, it was never used. Again there are bars along the prom with standing room only and they have high prices, but the prices at the cafe were beyond expensive.
Next are the small arches along the prom. i360 had a deal with the council that these shops could not sell any items sold at the i360, no gifts or bars or cafes.
We all knew it was doomed from day one.
But now the West Pier. There were plans to rebuild it but the council said it must not be a fun fair style pier similar to the Brighton Pier. So nothing that makes money!
Whilst I'm in the mood, the town as a tourist attraction is dying. Unreliable and expensive trains, £35 a day car park if you can even get into town, roads congested all the time and so expensive once you're here. Hotels charging £200+ a night mean people aren't staying the week as they used to.
But would I want the i360, oh yes. In the correct hands, people who know the seafront tourist business, it can make a lot of money. Sadly though, not the £millions it cost to build and is still oweing. If it sold freehold debt free for £20 million it would be a good business. Remember the Brighton Pier sold for £50 million a few years ago and they make money but have a lot more to offer.
They based their figures on 10 million visitors to Brighton every year - correct
But they then said a percentage would want to go on the i360 - correct
What they didn't realise is that of the 10 million, 6 million come every year. Therefor by year 4 the % of new visitors who had not been on the i360 was low.
Next is the 'exit through the gift shop' and this is my expert department. They sold nothing that showed Brighton. Everything was British Airways i360 when tourists want Brighton Rock and Gifts. Look at the Cafe/Restaurant, it was never used. Again there are bars along the prom with standing room only and they have high prices, but the prices at the cafe were beyond expensive.
Next are the small arches along the prom. i360 had a deal with the council that these shops could not sell any items sold at the i360, no gifts or bars or cafes.
We all knew it was doomed from day one.
But now the West Pier. There were plans to rebuild it but the council said it must not be a fun fair style pier similar to the Brighton Pier. So nothing that makes money!
Whilst I'm in the mood, the town as a tourist attraction is dying. Unreliable and expensive trains, £35 a day car park if you can even get into town, roads congested all the time and so expensive once you're here. Hotels charging £200+ a night mean people aren't staying the week as they used to.
But would I want the i360, oh yes. In the correct hands, people who know the seafront tourist business, it can make a lot of money. Sadly though, not the £millions it cost to build and is still oweing. If it sold freehold debt free for £20 million it would be a good business. Remember the Brighton Pier sold for £50 million a few years ago and they make money but have a lot more to offer.
nickbrighton
Well-known member
- Feb 19, 2016
- 2,143
- Thread starter
- #20
I agree they were unlucky with Covid, but the weather? Its Brighton seafront, its had seafog, storms, crappy weather as long as I can remember-that should have been factored in to all planning ,
Is it poorly marketed or is it a case of great idea, wrong location, with 50% of the view just sea, and as others have said, there aren't a lot of notable buildings or landmarks in Brighton. The Pavillion estate springs to mind but very little else