Brighton Marina has had an interesting history since its conception almost 40 years ago.
It was opened by HM The Queen and has become the largest Marina complex in Europe.
Read on to find out how it got there.
Brighton, despite the lack of natural shelter offered on this part of the South Coast, has been a port since the 14th Century. The town's proximity to, and good communications with, London, even in the days of horse drawn vehicles, accounted mainly for this. A thriving fishing community has also existed for many centuries.
The lack of shelter brought many proposals over the years, for the construction of a proper harbour; the first in 1806 was for a wharf, graving dock and 50 warehouses.
In 1823, the Chain Pier was constructed and in 1830, a Captain Brown brought forward a proposal, which would have used the Chain Pier as a breakwater, infilling the structure with chalk. This idea was dismissed as being too costly.
In 1842, Mr Wigney's "Recoil Principle" Harbour plan was proposed at a cost of £150,000. This concept was to encircle the Chain Pier with two breakwaters, and provide a commercial area in between.
The plan failed to come to fruition - and Mr Wigney never explained what the "Recoil Principle" was!
In 1845, a floating breakwater to protect the pier, was constructed of timber, but was moored in position for just one year, after which it was towed away. In 1896, the Chain Pier itself was destroyed in hurricane force winds
In the early sixties a local businessman Henry Cohen raised the possibility of constructing a yacht harbour at Brighton.
A consortium of banks and pension funds backed the project and eventually after two public enquiries an Act of Parliament (The Brighton Marina Act) was passed to enable construction to commence.
The plan was to build a huge yacht Marina with adjacent residential and leisure buildings on the land which was to be reclaimed from the open sea.
Work began on the construction of what was to become Europe's largest Marina in the winter of 1971. Huge reinforced concrete cassions each weighing 600 tonnes were fabricated on site and put into place by a giant 600 tonne crane which had to be constructed on site.
In June 1973 the final caissons of the west breakwater were laid and then almost three years later in 1976 the last caisson was laid at the end of the East Breakwater.
By August 1977 the infrastructure of the Marina was completed and the yacht berths were in the process of installation.
The land areas were actually below the level of the sea at high tide but protected by a sea wall, access to an inner harbour was provided by a huge lock, one of the largest non commercial locks in Europe.
In the Autumn of 1978 the Marina was open to the first boats. HM the Queen performed the opening after touring the Outer Harbour by boat with HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.
The cost of constructing the Marina had far exceeded the original budget and the backers were reluctant to commit further funding so further development was halted.
In 1985 the Marina was taken over by Brent Walker led by flamboyant boxer turned businessman George Walker. He immediately brought in a superstore operator and commenced construction of a Village Square development of shops and restaurants.
This was followed by flats and houses built on promontories overlooking the inner harbour. A 1600 space multistorey car park and cinema complex at the eastern end of the Marina was completed in 1988.
Brent Walker became victims of the tough 1980's economic climate and decided to sell the Marina.
In 1986 Brunswick Developments Plc, headed by millionaire Andrew Goodall purchased the Marina and once again the project surged ahead with the construction of a bowling complex health and fitness centre and casino.
The key to Brunswick's plans was the introduction of specialist developers for specialist projects. Experts were brought in for each area of the Marina.
The residential development of 800 flats and houses was undertaken by Barratt, one of the largest housebuilders in the UK.
The Marina itself was leased to Premier Marinas operators of five of the largest Marinas in the country, and the commercial section of the Marina was handed over to Parkridge Developments specialists in retail and leisure projects.
Parkridge quickly proved their mettle with the design and construction of the 'Waterfront' a four storey complex incorporating retail units and an hotel and restaurants with spectacular views over the Marina. The Waterfront opened for business in October 2002.
A project as large and varied as Brighton Marina never stands still. Plans are currently being formulated for further commercial and residential development.
The vibrant atmosphere of the Marina, so close to the exciting city of Brighton is proving to be an attractive location to live work and relax.
In September 2007, the commercial estate at Brighton Marina was sold to X Leisure. X Leisure – the UK’s fastest growing premier leisure brand bought for £64 million from previous owners Parkridge Developments, adding their first beach destination to their portfolio.
At the time of sale, Pierres Yves Gerbeau, Chief Executive of X Leisure commented, “I am thrilled to be involved in Brighton Marina. Brighton is a dynamic city and the Marina is an integral part of it with great leisure offer combined with an idyllic waterfront location. I am very excited about our future plans for the Marina.”
The group boasts a total of 16 leisure destinations strategically located across the UK.