Plans for a multi-million pound seafront monorail have collapsed.

David Courtney, the businessman behind the £10 million scheme linking Brighton Marina and the Palace Pier, said he had all but abandoned his four-year dream because Brighton and Hove City Council would not guarantee him the land.

His Brighton Monorail and Tram Company has spent more than £150,000 on the proposals but he said it could not proceed further without the council giving him the option on the land where the monorail would be built.

An option is an agreement that providing planning criteria are met, the landowner, in this case the council, will sell a developer a particular piece of land.

Mr Courtney said potential investors, needed to take the scheme to the next level and draw up detailed proposals, would only come on board once the option was granted.

But he said despite being given every indication that the council was in favour the authority had backed out, so the plans had collapsed.

But the council denied responsibility, saying it could not give Mr Courtney the option until it had seen a fully-costed business plan assembled by experts.

It said it had worked closely with him and provided all the practical and professional support in its power.

A spokeswoman said: "Mr Courtney needs to assemble the usual project team of lawyers, planners, architects, engineers and other experts to produce a business plan that proves the monorail scheme would be a success.

"Until the council sees such a plan, it is unlikely to give him an option on such an important city space."

Mr Courtney said: "We have spent £30,000 on a transport feasibility study, £20,000 on a patronage study that shows estimated passenger figures and more than £100,000 on other research and work.

"To suggest that all I have given the council is a concept is utterly misleading.."

International engineering company Frazer Nash designed the monorail system for Mr Courtney and agreed to invest £5 million worth of rolling stock. Environmental consultants RPS Transport and architects Lomax Cassidy and Edwards, which designed the new Brighton library, were also part of the team.