Title

FINANCE

Report finds 'optimism bias' in council projections

Brighton and Hove city councillors were guilty of ‘optimism bias’ in forecasting the popularity of the i360 seafront tower, a report has found.

i360 viewing tower pod in Brighton © Pandora Pictures/shutterstock

Brighton and Hove city councillors were guilty of ‘optimism bias' in forecasting the popularity of the i360 seafront tower, a report has found.

Councillors believed the tower would attract tourists on a similar scale to international landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, but a ‘lessons learnt' study by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) said they should have benchmarked it against domestic attractions such as Blackpool Tower or Portsmouth's Spinnaker Tower.

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