QUESTIONS have been raised about a proposed £11 billion West Somerset tidal lagoon project after revelations part of the team behind it left a South coast city with £51 million debts.

Brighton’s iconic i360 observation tower was co-designed by Julia Barfield, one of the consortium pushing for a tidal lagoon stretching from Minehead to Watchet.

The i360 opened in 2016 but went into to administration at the end of 2024 without repaying £51 million the city council had loaned to underwrite it.

The authority wrote-off the debt, leaving council taxpayers to repay £2.2 million a year for 16 years to the Public Works Loan Board, while the tower was bought for £150,000 and reopened in 2025.

The tidal lagoon project put forward by Ms Barfield’s consortium has been publicly backed by MP Rachel Gilmour and Somerset Council leader Cllr Bill Revans.

Supporters argue the scheme could deliver long-term clean energy and investment.

However, locally there was concern at diverting attention from more immediate challenges around jobs, transport connectivity, and education access.

Exmoor farming entrepreneur and political campaigner James Wright said ambition for West Somerset ‘must be matched by realism and delivery’.

Mr Wright said: “West Somerset is in desperate need of jobs and investment, but the priority must be improving access to the jobs that already exist, strengthening transport links, and making it easier for people to get to education and training.

“That is how you build a stronger local economy and attract sustainable private investment.

“Brighton i360 shows the risks of bold, but poorly thought-out projects.

“The council borrowed money on the back of financial predictions that did not materialise.”

“Re-connecting Watchet via the B3191, stopping flooding on the A39, and establishing a reliable commuter rail service to Taunton would make a real difference to people’s lives and the local economy.”