It is extremely sad to read about the sorry state of the West Pier.

Despite all the years of campaigning and efforts by many, just as a realistic scheme has been finally drawn up to restore and finance this great Brighton landmark, there are some who are campaigning to kill this project and the pier with it.

While the objectives of the leasers of the Palace Pier are understandable (anti-competition), the motives of local communities are frankly shocking.

It is laudable to desire a scheme which has no land-end development but there is only one proposal on the table. St Modwen has improved the design considerably and there will be no second chance - the pier is almost doomed as it is.

It is not as if the city is being completely walled off from the sea. Far from it.

I don't remember the local community being up in arms when art shows ran for 100 yards along the promenade obscuring sea views adjacent to the West Pier.

Either we want to save the pier or we do not. Unless a great philanthropist will step up and pay the costs or the taxpayer pays (which has not happened in 30 years), a financially viable solution as proposed is the only answer.

If you love Brighton and Hove and its heritage, including the piers, the answer is clear which direction to take - give St Modwen the go-ahead immediately.

-John Ward, Waverley Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada