Brighton tower delayed for year

The attraction is not now expected to open to the public until 2011

Work to build one of the tallest structures in the UK on Brighton seafront has been delayed another year.

Construction for the 183m (600ft) i360 observation tower was originally due to begin in 2007, but the team behind the project said it will now start in 2009.

Architect David Marks said it was taking developers "a little longer than anticipated" to start the work.

However, he said they remained "100% committed to the project", which is now expected to open in 2011.

The i360 tower, which will be built on the site of Brighton's ruined West Pier, was given final approval by the government in April 2007.

Glynn Jones, chair of the West Pier Trust, said the project had been a victim of the worldwide economic problems.

"We remain confident and look forward to it starting when the current situation has eased," he said.

Steel 'cans'

The i360 tower was designed by Marks Barfield Architects, the creators of the London Eye.

The team said on Monday that work to make the steelwork had already started in Holland.

The tower will be made up of 17 steel "cans" which vary in thickness from the bottom to the top.

A total of 660 tonnes of steel plate is currently being rolled at a factory near Maastricht.

Construction will involve the demolition of the promenade end of the West Pier, which closed in 1975.

A viewing pod will take people on a 20-minute ride up the spire, where the views from the top will reach for 25 miles to Bognor in the west and Eastbourne in the east.

The tower will be rooted in the middle of a heritage centre built at ground level on the seafront.