The application seeks to demolish and remove the ‘root’ end of the West Pier, the section nearest the promenade; the ‘sea wreck’, all the bits which have fallen into the sea and which protrude from the beach, but will leave the ‘sea island’, the main section farthest out to sea, untouched.

A single storey glass heritage centre would be built on the site of the West Pier root, stretching from the beach front back to meet Kings Road Arches. The roof of the heritage centre would be level with the promenade and would form a deck area and incorporate the two original West Pier kiosks.

The i-360 tower would rise up from the middle of the heritage centre to a height of 172 metres, making it the tallest building in Sussex. It would incorporate a viewing pod, which would take 100 passengers at a time to the top of the tower.

The scheme has been designed by architects Marks Barfield, the creators of the London Eye.

The Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership has submitted a response to the proposal, which may be accessed via this link http://www.brightonbusiness.co.uk/htm/ni20060823.070840.htm

Brighton & Hove City Council’s planning committee will consider the application at a meeting at 2pm on Wednesday 11 October in Hove Town Hall.