Felixstowe: Observation wheel to come to promenade?

East Suffolk Council will come together to discuss whether the temporary attraction should be erected on Felixstowe promenade.

The application is being recommended for approval, with the proposal being "considered to add to the offer of tourism facilities in the resort" according to planning documents.

The application is for the wheel to be up for a maximum of six months, and will be erected on one of the grass patches between the promenade and Sea Road.

The plot of land being proposed. Credit: Google Maps (Image: Google Maps)

The wheel will have 24 pods for passengers, with a maximum capacity of six people.

The proposal involves the partial removal of areas of wall and hedge along the back of the promenade to allow for entry.

A total of 15 letters of representation were received by the council, with 12 in favour of the proposal and three objecting.

Concerns over the site being too small for the size of the wheel, anti-social behaviour and being too noisy and bright were also concerns raised, with the wheel running for 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

There were also objections over parking, with those against saying that "parking is already a problem with lack of spaces and on-street parking blocking residents driveways".

The majority were behind the proposal, however, with pros being that it would be a "good addition to the town", "would bring in more visitors and therefore more money", "would support other businesses in the town" and it would "provide a seafront focal feature".

The wheel would stand at a maximum of 34.5 metres tall, and would be 32.6 metres long, and would take up the entire width of the existing garden area behind the promenade.

The application is set to be discussed on Tuesday by East Suffolk Council.