Plans to bring the Brighton Wheel back to the seafront have taken a significant step forward after Brighton & Hove City Council’s cabinet backed a 25-year lease for the attraction’s former site.
What has been agreed for the Brighton Wheel return?
Cabinet members supported granting a lease for Dalton’s Bastion, just east of Brighton Palace Pier, at a meeting on Thursday 17 September 2026. The site hosted the original Brighton Wheel from 2011 until 2016.
The proposed operator would meet the project’s costs and carry the commercial risk. The existing Brighton Zip attraction is expected to remain in operation alongside the wheel.
The decision is an important milestone, but it does not mean the wheel is ready to open. The lease must be completed and the scheme will still need to satisfy the necessary planning, technical and safety requirements.
When could the Brighton Wheel reopen?
The council’s earlier announcement said the applicant hoped to have the attraction operating by summer 2027, subject to approvals. No confirmed opening date, ticket price or final operating timetable has been announced, so visitors should not make plans around that target yet.
The previous wheel stood about 50 metres high and operated on the site for five years before being dismantled in 2016.
Why the council backed the proposal
Cabinet members were told that Brighton & Hove welcomed about 12.2 million visitors last year, close to the 12.4 million recorded in 2019. Supporters believe the wheel could add another family attraction to the eastern seafront while complementing the Palace Pier, Brighton Zip and the nearby Madeira Terrace restoration.
Some councillors raised concerns about committing council-owned seafront land for 25 years. For now, the confirmed development is the cabinet’s backing for the lease; construction and an opening date remain to be confirmed.
Sources
- Brighton & Hove City Council: Brighton Wheel could return to the seafront
- Brighton and Hove News: cabinet backs the seafront lease
Featured image: Alistair Hand via Unsplash. Illustrative stock photograph of a ferris wheel, not the proposed Brighton Wheel.
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