Two private companies have produced business plans for a new West Pier on Brighton seafront.

The West Pier Trust, which reluctantly gave up its dream of restoring the devastated pier after public funding fell through, is in talks with the companies about building a new one using surviving elements of the original Victorian structure.

Initial costing for the plans, which the trust said were very different from eachother, have been given the thumbs-up by consultants.

Next month the trust, which is working with Brighton and Hove City Council and English Heritage, will announce which plan it wants to pursue. It hopes to present an outline proposal to its annual general meeting in October.

Dr Geoff Lockwood, chief executive of the trust which owns the pier, said: "We are not seeking to restore or reconstruct the West Pier but to do something significantly new. It is heritage retention and creation - a mixture of modern architecture and old heritage."

Dr Lockwood refused to identify the private groups involved, saying only one was a national company and the other a local one. He also declined to comment on the details of the rival plans.

But he said, while both centred around traditional tourist activities, the new pier would not replicate the Palace Pier.

He said: "It will not be a fun fair pier and it is not going to be a shopping arcade. All three parties - the council, English Heritage and the trust - will be looking for a proposal which better suits the site and meets the need of the local population."

Designed by Eugenius Birch, the West Pier opened in 1866 as a simple promenade and later acquired a bandstand then a theatre and, later still, a sumptuous 1,400-seat concert hall.

Last year the trust's hopes of restoring the pier to its former glory with public money were dashed when the National Lottery fund withdrew its support.

The famous Brighton landmark is considered beyond repair after being repeatedly battered by the elements and some fear it will eventually crumble into the sea.

Pressure has been growing on the trust to come up with a plan. The Regency Square Area Society has called for the pier to be pulled down for safety's sake.

Dr Lockwood said he was hopeful the latest talks would bear fruit. He said: "The difference between this proposal and all the previous ones over the last ten years is it will use almost entirely private sector finance. This makes things simpler."

If it goes to plan, work on the land side could be finished by 2008.