A LANDSCAPE gardener wants to see the West Pier wreckage brought ashore to overlook the i360.

Phillip Tschanz thinks this would be the ideal centrepiece for the new look Regency Square garden, which is due to be revamped with funding from the new viewing tower's ticket sales.

Mr Tschanz, who lived in the city for years but has since moved to Switzerland, made the comments after learning the Regency Square Area Society committee was asking for feedback on designs created by celebrity gardener Diarmuid Gavin.

The Irish television personality and Chelsea Flower Show regular donated his time to produce three ideas drawing themes of coastal lighting and the history of the surround Regency architecture.

Mr Tschanz said: "I'm not a designer but I see the area of the i360 needs to be grand and outstanding, and just another garden with ?some plant design is not going to balance what is supposed to be a huge attraction. It needs a feature and what better than to use something that's already there. It will be a preservation of history to mark what was once iconic. The West Pier looks out of place on its own, rusting away like some old shipwreck. It would get to live again.

"I see the i360 as the future and the garden to be enjoyed by those who want that history side.

"Imagine it at night lit up in a wonderful garden that would look amazing and much better than what is there now."

Businessman Mike Holland, who presented plans to rebuild the pier in 2012, said: "It is a great shame the pier was never rebuilt which could easily have happened. The rusting hulk is polluting our waters and is a danger to those using the beach so it should be removed. I believe Eugenius Birch [the 19th-century English naval architect, engineer and pier constructor] would say 'now is the time to let it go'."

The news comes after The Argus exclusively revealed ideas to build a contemporary pier on the site of the original structure by 2026.

Last week Peter Kyle's hopes to build a pier in Hove out of the back of the King Alfred Leisure Centre were also debated by Argus readers.

One suggested the city should follow in the footsteps of Saltburn in Yorkshire which boasts a Victorian pier of hardwood decking on iron piles. It is the last remaining in the county.

One reader said: "It has a great simple pier that could potentially be used as a template for Brighton and Hove to follow. Not fancy and with no on-pier entertainments it may not be everyone's cup of tea but worth a look regardless."

SUBMIT YOUR THOUGHTS ON REGENCY SQUARE GARDEN DESIGNS

Nearby residents and businesses are asked to rate three designs for the gardens developed for free by celebrity gardener Diarmuid Gavin.

To read more about the designs click here

Their feedback will help form a decision on what the garden will look like. While responses have already started to flood in, there is not yet a clear favourite.

People have until February 28 to fill out the questionnaire. The responses can be posted to Nigel Rose, 65/66 Regency Square, Brighton, or emailed to Nicola.Floyd@yahoo.com.