Councillors have made an historic decision for the West Pier and the future of Brighton and Hove as a resort.

For almost 30 years, the loveliest pier in Britain has stood forlorn and derelict as successive schemes for restoration have come and gone. Since the end of last year, sections of the pier have slid into the sea and there is a risk of further collapse.

Now the city's planning committee has agreed to plans that will bring the pier back to its Twenties' glory.

Almost everyone would like to see the pier restored. Most people accept the need for a sizeable shoreline development to make restoration viable.

The sticking point has been the size of the three pavilions submitted by developers St Modwen and the Brighton West Pier Trust.

There is no doubt they are big and they will restrict some of the fine views of the seafront. But they will be leisure attractions in themselves and they are the price we have to pay for restoring a Grade I-listed building.

Even with the promise of £14 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund, two previous private sector partners of the trust could not restore the pier.

St Modwen is a company with a proven record in property and leisure. It runs several successful racecourses up and down the country.

One of them is at Brighton, which it has revived, and the company has also proved its commitment to the city through the development proposed for the industrial estate at Woodingdean.

Now it is taking a bold gamble with the pier. It is a risk because piers can be notoriously hard to restore but it is one that must succeed.

The St Modwen scheme is not ideal, which is why it has attracted so much opposition. But it is the only one with a real prospect of success.

The alternative application, put up with the best of intentions by Birch Restorations, is supported by organisations such as Save Our Seafront.

However, it is too little too late. There are question marks about its viability and about who would provide the many millions of pounds to make it work.

To get it accepted by the West Pier Trust and the Heritage Lottery Fund would take months, if not years. By that time, the pier could be lying on the bottom of the sea.

There are many more obstacles to be overcome before a restored pier can become a reality. They include the possibility the scheme will be called in for a public inquiry and the continued, irksome, legal challenge by the Palace Pier.

No one knows exactly how the figures produced by St Modwen will add up and some critics have, understandably, raised the spectre of the largely vacant Aquarium Terraces. But the Palace Pier is the biggest tourist attraction in the South-East and there is no reason why a restored West Pier should not become equally popular.

The seafront restoration between the Palace Pier and the Hove boundary has proved to be one of Brighton's biggest successes.

It is waiting for the West Pier revival, the last and biggest piece in a complicated jigsaw. It can and must be done.

Two million people paid to promenade on the West Pier in its best years after the First World War.

We want to see it restored to its former glory. This decisive planning vote means that can become a reality.