When the Green and Conservative parties voted to back the i360 with public money back in 2014 and to take out a £36 million loan which was passed straight on to private developers they effectively submitted the City Council and our taxpayers entirely to the free market. Mind-bogglingly little thought was given to what would happen if the venture didn’t initially succeed. And so that decision has ultimately brought us to where we are now. Both before and since the board of the i360 filed for administration last month, our Cabinet Member for Finance and City Regeneration, Cllr Jacob Taylor, has been working relentlessly, against the bad hand we have been dealt, to try and help secure a buyer for the attraction. It benefits everyone for the attraction to still be in use, if at all possible: former employees who may regain their employment; businesses next to the i360 who have already seen a drop in footfall and profits since the i360 closed its doors; and ultimately residents and the City Council. A derelict structure benefits no one, another West Pier but without the history that makes the West Pier, in all its ragged rustiness, beloved of Brightonians through the generations. If the i360 can operate again then it can help bring in business rates. And if we proceed with the recommended buyer that has come forward, the City Council will get a small share of future revenues.
On Thursday this week our Labour Cabinet is set to discuss recommendations around the potential sale of the Brighton i360. While the sale is a decision for the administrators, Interpath Advisory, they must act in the best interests of creditors and as the largest creditor, the council needs to agree to the release of the debt owed by the Brighton i360 company. The final decision on the sale will be made by Interpath Advisory. The reason that it is recommended that we take this course of action is because the offer proposed is the best value we’ll get from the market. Over the past few months we have spoken to lots of interested buyers, but offers have not materialised and it’s only now that viable offers have been put forward. It is not surprising given the attractions recent performance that none include a significant purchase price or taking over any outstanding debt. The alternative is to let the attraction remain shuttered, a blight on the horizon from almost every vantage point in the City and without any chance of future income and business rates for the Council.
While this may be the least worst option, I understand why residents are so incredulous that this situation has come to pass – I’m incredulous, and angry. As this catastrophe has unfolded I’ve reflected a lot on how the Greens could have got this so wrong and how they can still be so unwilling to make a public apology to the City. And my firm conclusion is this: despite claiming that they are a competent Party of the Left, they are really made up of politicians with deeply conflicting political views, but which ultimately favour rampant individualism. As for being on the Left, in practice they are no such thing. How could a Party of the Left allow so much public money to be frittered away, harming our most vulnerable residents who most rely on public services. And as for being environmentalists, surely that this claim hangs by a thread too. What was ‘green’ about the i360? In fact I wonder what the carbon footprint was?
When you examine the Greens closely and the decisions they made when in power in Brighton and Hove and their choices now in Opposition it’s clear they are deeply out of touch and have no interest in tackling inequality. Take their opposition in 2023 to our action on missing unaccompanied asylum seeking children – Green councillors lined up in the Chamber to condemn the action the local Labour Party wanted to take, before voting with the Tories to block a legal challenge. In the end it was Labour’s legal challenge that put an end to this child protection scandal. Time and again -from Sian Berry’s opposition to the sale of Patcham Court Farm which will pave the way for more housing, including council housing in the City – to their opposition to wealthy landowners paying inheritance tax, the Greens are the party of maintaining the status quo and widening inquality.
Bella Sankey is the Labour Leader of Brighton and Hove City Council
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