THE Argus has resurrected a petition to rename the city's best known attraction Palace Pier.

After just six hours yesterday more than 750 people had already signed the online petition calling on the new owner to take action.

Luke Johnson, who bought the pier last week for £18 million, said he was "not ruling anything in or out" in relation to changing the official name back to Palace Pier.

The leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, Warren Morgan, city MPs Caroline Lucas and Simon Kirby have already added their support to the campaign alongside hundreds of residents.

The original Palace Pier sign was taken down by former owners the Noble Organisation in 2000.

Many local people, The Argus and National Piers Society have steadfastly refused to recognise the new name and in 2011 we launched a campaign to resurrect the original name.

Support for our resurrected campaign has been flooding in since Friday's announcement of the pier's sale.

Ms Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion, urged the new owner to rename the attraction Palace Pier while Simon Kirby, MP for Brighton Kemptown, said: “I always call it Palace Pier. I think it would be fantastic if it could be changed back."

Roger Hinton, of The Regency Society, said: “Speaking personally, I welcome the new owner’s promise not to rush in and start changing everything. I hope they change the name back to Palace Pier.”

Graham Chainey, a resident living near the pier in Marine Parade, also backed the renaming as well as a host of other changes.

He said: "The name should revert to Palace Pier.

“They could bring back angling, banned by Noble when they acquired the pier in 1984.

“They could restore the 1901 pierhead theatre, closed following storm damage in 1973, removed in 1986, and allegedly stored somewhere.

“They could turn down the sometimes excessively loud music along the pier, especially on the fairground at the far end."

Anthony Wills, from the National Piers Society, said he not only wanted to see the name changed but also the landing stage re-instated.

He said: “A breath of fresh air is to be welcomed and we hope that the new owner will bring some of his expertise to Palace Pier in order to further enhance its appeal."