THE Palace Pier will have three new rides after councillors gave the go-ahead to the proposals last night.

The Brighton pier, the most popular tourist attraction in the South East, will remove four of its current rides to make room for the new attractions.

The new rides will be the water-based Flume, a rollercoaster called The Mouse and a roundabout known as Kick It. Those being replaced are the Space Loop, Enterprise, Indiana and Venturer.

Brighton and Hove councillors have granted listed building consent for the rides on the end of the pier. Five other current rides will be repositioned.

The decision follows a

public inquiry, lost by the council last year, over whether some of the rides should be on the pier.

Senior Labour councillor Jackie Lythell told the planning committee: "We have lost the argument and there was pig-headedness on both sides."

She said the new plans would at least produce some symmetry on the pier head.

But Tory councillor Carol Theobald said some of the rides would be enormous and ugly while Coun Peter Willows was concerned about whether the pier could stand the weight.

Labour councillor Bob

Carden said: "The Palace Pier has got something going for it. It is always full of people even on the direst and darkest day. Good luck to the pier."

Planning officer David

Vickers said the council had to pay attention to the result of the public inquiry.

He added the two

tallest rides had been reduced in height and high-level signs had been omitted. The Mouse would now be 15 metres and the Flume 11 metres.

Mr Vickers said that they were still high structures but their skeletal form and peripheral positions would not

overwhelm the pier head.

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