Incredulous and angry

Oh the irony, the i360 irony! Brighton & Hove Council has agreed to release the security on its £51m loan debt and rolled-up interest in the failed i360 business. Concerted efforts were made to find a buyer before it went into administration late last year - see i360 stranded sky with sky high debts - but without success. Writing off the debt, the council concluded in an urgent meeting last night, was the only way forward, leaving the administrators, Interpath Advisory, free to negotiate with an as-yet unnamed buyer.

A full report of the council meeting and write-off decision can viewed at the Brighton & Hove News website. The council leader Bella Sankey was reported as saying: ‘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. 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.’

Sankey also suggested that a derelict i360 would become like the West Pier but without its ‘rugged rustiness’ loved by many. The ironies of this situation, of course, are as visible as the i360 tower itself. Part of the rationale for the original project was that it would generate funds for the West Pier Trust, which owns the West Pier ruin and the land on which the i360 sits, and that it could lead to a rebuilding of the West Pier - ha ha! Now, though, the rusting West Pier still stands, a warning to all those involved with the i360 of where abandonment can lead. And yet, that abandoned infrastructure has also deteriorated, one might say, into one of Brighton’s major tourist attractions.

It is worth noting this from the council’s report to last night’s meeting: ‘Restarting operation of the attraction is important, and not just for the visitor economy. Any option that sees the attraction abandoned would result in a significant and extremely visible blight - not just to the beach but in key views across the whole city. The practical reality is that demolition of the attraction could, potentially, end up falling to the council and could also come at considerable cost.’

And here is the (rather optimistic) conclusion to that report: ‘The i360 has been a catalyst for regeneration benefits in that part of the seafront, and it has positively contributed to the city’s tourism economy since 2016. However, these benefits have come at considerable cost to the public purse, and the money could have been used to deliver other public benefit. The new owners come with a clean slate and are not linked to the previous ownership and are not in any way responsible for the previous harm to the public purse. As such they and the i360 should be supported to be a success so has the potential to generate revenue that the city council will share into the future.’

We wait to learn who next will take on the sky-high attraction. (NB: The photograph above dates from 10 years ago during the construction phase - does it bring a headless chicken to mind?) 

The Pavilion pivots 90°

Two hundred years ago, give or take a few months, this incredible image of Brighthelmstone beach and town was engraved by William Bernard Cooke after a watercolour painted the year before by the great John Mallard William Turner. The original watercolour is owned by Brighton & Hove Museums, though is not on permanent display because it cannot be exposed to light for very long.

After having been in private collections since 1830, the original watercolour came up at an auction in New York in 2012, and was purchased with help from the Art Fund, the Heritage Lottery Fund and private patrons. An essay on the painting by Dr Alexandra Loske, Art Historian and Curator at the Royal Pavilion, is available on the Museums website. She explains: ‘It was of utmost importance to secure this gem, as it is one of the few paintings by Turner that shows the Royal Pavilion.[. . .] In our watercolour Turner took a few compositional liberties for the sake of the ‘picturesque’ appeal of the image, for example turning the Pavilion by about 90 degrees to ensure the whole of its east front can be seen.’

Loske continues: ‘Compared to other paintings of Brighton by Turner our watercolour provides a surprising amount of detail. Many buildings of Brighton can be identified, among them St Nicholas’s Church, the Duke of York’s hotel, and Marine Parade under construction. The most prominent building is the recently finished Chain Pier, a bold cast-iron structure that seems to be withstanding strong waves and stormy conditions and is gleaming in the sunlight. It pushes its way into the composition with all the pride and confidence we see a few years later in other great cast iron structures, such as railway bridges and stations.’

The painting is both small and detailed because it was meant to be engraved, as it was, in 1825, by Cooke. He used this and other Turner originals to illustrate his book Picturesque Views of the Southern Coast of England (freely available to view at Googlebooks). 

Prints based on the watercolour - such as my own, which, as you can see, I’ve so artfully photographed against the white iron railings of the pier and the white foamy waves beyond - were also published individually.

Art, activism, and advocacy

Found on a beach bench in Hove - a mermaid, exquisitely painted on stone. On the back is written: ‘Mermaid by PR. Please visit Morgan Rocks on FBook + post a pic + Re Hide. Thanks.’

Morgan’s Rocks is an initiative of Morgan’s Army, a South Wales charity supporting families of children diagnosed with cancer. Morgan Ridler was but two and a half when diagnosed with a large adrenal tumour in 2021. Despite an initially successful treatment, the cancer returned, and soon spread. Tragically, Morgan died in June 2023. His parents, Natalie and Matthew Ridler, established Morgan’s Army with the aim of ensuring that no child or family faces the battle against cancer alone. There’s more about the organisation on Facebook.

The Morgan’s Rocks campaign is ‘a global stone-painting initiative’ designed to raise awareness for childhood cancer and spread Morgan’s legacy. These rocks, each unique and heartfelt, are hidden to be discovered and re-discovered, with the aim of creating ‘a global tapestry of solidarity and awareness’. 

‘As these stones travel far and wide,’ the organisation says, ‘they carry with them Morgan’s legacy, ensuring that his story and the broader narrative of childhood cancer reach every corner of the world. It’s a beautiful blend of art, activism, and advocacy.’ The many journeys of these painted stones can be followed on Facebook.

Meanwhile, this mermaid, has been re-perched, on Brighton Beach, ready for her next adventure. 

The beaching of ‘Athina B’

Forty-five years ago today, Brighton Beach saw one of its most astonishing spectacles on record: the beaching of the merchant vessel Athina B, just east of the Palace Pier. Having suffered engine failure, the 3,500t vessel remained on the pebbles for a month, becoming a tourist attraction, and needing a police presence to deter looting. After the cargo had been removed by a mobile crane, she was refloated and towed to a scrapyard, Medway Secondary Metals, Kent, where she was scrapped. Her anchor, however, was eventually presented to the local authority, and given a plinth on the promenade close by where the ship had been beached.  

The Athina B had had a mixed history. Built in Hiroshima and named Kojima Maru, she was launched in 1968. She was then re-named twice before being reflagged (Greece) and re-named yet again, Athina B. 

The vessel had left the Azores on 1 December laden with 3,000t of pumice (which has widespread uses in agriculture, construction and manufacturing) heading for Shoreham-on-Sea. On route, however, she developed faults with the generator, gyro compass and radar, and stopped at La Rochelle for repairs. She arrived at Shoreham on 20 January but high winds meant she was unable to enter the harbour. Her engines failed, and a Mayday call was issued. Four lifeboat missions were required to rescue the crew and the captain’s family. Coxswain Ken Voice led the operations in the Shoreham lifeboat, Dorothy and Philip Constance, and was later awarded the RNLI Silver Medal for his bravery. The vessel, herself, began drifting east, eventually beaching on the pebbles five miles east of the harbour entrance.

The spectacle quickly attracted tourists, local and from further afield. British Rail advertised special away-day trips to see the wreck and Volks Electric Railway ran a special out-of-season service. Some of the visitors have recorded their memories on the My Brighton and Hove website. Gerry Hay, for example, says: ‘I was a Brighton cop at the time. I came out of the Palace Pier Police box early hours having had a ‘break’, only to see the ship on the beach. Thought it was a bad dream.’

And Mike Robe, who was in fact the captain’s brother-in-law, remembers there were lifeboat crewman injured: ‘It seems a hell of a long time ago now. However, I can remember every single part of it to this day, so it must have made an impression on me and indeed all of us that took part in the rescue. And there were many of us: two Lifeboats and shore helpers, coastguards, police, ambulances, Shoreham Community Centre, and W.R.V.S. Tug Meeching. It was a combined effort by all the services. Many people don’t realise that there were Lifeboat crewmen injured aboard the Newhaven Lifeboat that night.’

Various photographs of the wreck to be found online. The top one above was taken by Clive Warneford and can be viewed on Wikipedia; and the one below it is a photograph donated to Brighton & Hove Museums. 

The aging plaque on the anchor reads: ‘The Athina B was beached in a storm at this point on the night of 21st January 1980. Her crew were successfully taken off without loss of life thanks to the bravery of the men of the Shoreham Lifeboat. In a major salvage operation her cargo was discharged and the ship was refloated on the 17th February 1980. The ship’s anchor was presented by Medway Secondary Metals Limited in whose yard the ship was finally broken up. John Leach - Mayor of Brighton, 26th September 1980’

New BrightTEN running event

Brighton Beach hosted, for the first time yesterday, Sunday, a ‘BrighTEN (Brighton) Seafront Run’ organised by UK Running Events Ltd. The company describes itself as specialising in mass participation running events across the UK. It’s most well-known for managing ‘Inflatable 5k’, ‘the world’s largest inflatable obstacle race’. This has already been put on in more than 20 locations around the country - and will be coming to Brighton in October.

More than a 1,000 people took part in yesterday’s run, an event ‘designed to help participants kickstart their New Year resolutions and to include scenic routes past landmarks such as the historical Burnt Down Pier, the iconic i360 Tower, and the Hove Promenade’. Indeed, the run routes - 10 mile and 10 km - took in more or less the whole extent of Brighton Beach starting and finishing on Hove Lawns. The 10 mile run was won by Sam Cook with a time of 55:15 while James Brewster and Lewis Reeves came second and third respectively. The 10 km was won by Joe Halter with a time of 36:51.

UK Running Events Ltd was founded in 2016, and currently has two directors: Martin James Barden and Jayne Louise Barden. Its estimated turnover as of December 2023 was given as £282,000. Two further events for Brighton are planned this year: Trail runs (through the South Downs and along the coast) of 50 mile, 50 km and 23 km, on 13 September; and the Inflatable 5K on 18 October. (‘Run Rebel’ - as in the photo of yesterday’s podium - appears to be a brand name for the company’s trail runs.)

Assuming BrighTEN continues to operate next year, it will join a growing list of annual running events in the city. These include Brighton Marathon (April), Brighton Half Marathon (March), and Race for Life Brighton (June).

Million Mile Clean

Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), now in its 25th year, was in action again today, in Hove, as part of its continuing efforts towards the Million Mile Clean. SAS was founded in 1990 by a group of Cornish surfers concerned about chronic and widespread sewage pollution of the UK coastline. The campaign’s success was helped by key pieces of EU legislation at the time, including the Bathing Water Directive.

Since then SAS has grown into a leading environmental charity, addressing diverse marine conservation issues such as plastic pollution, climate change, and sustainable surfing innovation. Acknowledgement of its growth in importance came in 2020 when Prince Charles became a patron, a role he has maintained since becoming King.

In 2021, SAS came up with the idea of rallying 100,000 volunteers to each clean 10 miles of blue, green or city space a year. Launched in response to the Covid pandemic, the Million Mile Clean subsequently reported it was Europe’s biggest beach clean campaign: 142,428 volunteers in the clean-up efforts; 4,216 beach, river, street, and mountain clean-ups; and 398,179 kg of plastic and packaging pollution cleared across over 1.1 million miles of coast and countryside.

The Million Mile Clean is set to run annually until 2030 (aligning with the UN Decade for Ocean Science), and SAS are continuing to call for people across the UK to join the campaign and commit to cleaning up their local beach or neighbourhood. Details can be found here, and if you want to know whether you can clean by yourself (‘absolutely’), or what to do with the rubbish you’ve collected (recycle if possible), try the FAQs.

It was bitterly cold on the sea front this morning, yet around 30 people turned up, congregating at the Peace Statue, before taking their Surfers Against Sewage waste bags down on to the pebbles.

RNLI to take over beach safety

Brighton and Hove City Council has just announced that the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) will take over the training and managing of the city’s lifeguards from the council’s Seafront Office. Last season, the Office employed around 40 lifeguards working across ten different beach areas. One of the key requirements for an RNLI lifeguard is to be able run 200m on sand in under 40 seconds - not that he/she will find much sand to run on in Brighton.

The RNLI already manages lifeguard services around the country at more than 200 beaches. The charity says its lifeguards dealt with over 2,000 incidents in 2023, assisted nearly 2,500 people in the south east of England alone, and saved 14 lives. 

This week, Councillor Birgit Miller said: ‘Thousands of people visit our glorious seafront each summer and keeping them safe and happy is a huge priority for us. With council budgets continually stretched, we wanted to look at how we could continue to provide a high-quality seasonal service, while getting the best possible value for money for our residents. By working in partnership with the RNLI, which has a proven track record of working with local authorities, we can maintain the current level of service and provide value for money, but also benefit from best practice and knowledge built up over decades.’

Although the council has not announced the financials of its agreement with the RNLI, a report prepared last April by the council revealed that the cost of the lifeguard service that summer, as managed by the Seafront Office, would be £482,193. 

The report also provided more details of the then current operation. The Seafront Office, with seven core staff, is responsible for the end-to-end lifeguard recruitment process, lifeguard inductions, weekly training and management of the operation. Moreover, it is responsible for managing and maintaining a controlled and safe seafront environment, daily patrols, incident management, stakeholder engagement, byelaw enforcement, seafront maintenance, public safety and incident prevention throughout the year.

Key tasks for lifeguards are listed as: 

- water safety advice 

- drowning prevention

- emergency response to water-based incidents,

- emergency response to life-threatening land-based incidents

- minor first aid

- missing persons search and reunite

- sun safety advice, weather and tide information

- hazard identification

- byelaw enforcement on beach (including dogs and barbecues)

Fun fact about RNLI lifeguards: They don’t just rescue humans - they’ve also helped rescue some unexpected animals, such as deer, seals, a terrapin, and even a water-logged puffin! They’ve also become experts at catching runaway inflatable pool toys like unicorns, donuts, and flamingos that get swept out to sea.

NB: More about the history of the RNLI in Brighton coming later in January.