I like the West Pier. Its demise occurred while I was living abroad and my initial reaction was one of disinterest.

I took for granted its dilapidated elegance and didn't expect to miss it on my return. When I saw it I was surprised at my disappointment.

However, times change and in my two months back in Brighton I have come to like the twisted metal skeleton.

The first stage draped more like cloth than iron over its foundation, the second still attracting the remarkable loyalty of the birds that perform aerial gymnastics round it each evening.

I enjoy the structure's stubborn but futile fight against impermanence.

Sadly, one thing that doesn't seem to have changed in my absence is the inability of Sussex Police and Brighton and Hove City Council to engage the residents in tackling problems in Brighton.

While parking seems to have improved for some, NCP continues to profit from its policy of indiscriminate fines on a complacent public.

Privatisation policy was further dirtied last week by the bank holiday refuse collection strikes.

I was also flabbergasted to read that cyclists are receiving fines for straying from the seafront cycle path.

It seems painfully obvious to me that the answer lies in better separation of the pedestrian and cycle paths.

This is simply achieved in West Sussex (and indeed Copacabana Beach, Rio), by reinforcing the psychological distinction by simply lowering the cycle path.

The resulting kerb invokes the response drilled in to us since childhood of stop, look and listen - perhaps a valuable lesson too for our city's policy makers.

-Chris Preager, Brighton