Although a resident of Worthing, I, like many others along the South Coast, have come to enjoy the many pleasures of Brighton and especially those provided by the Palace Pier.

I totally agree with the comments from David Biesterfield, director of the Noble Organisation, on the redevelopment of the West Pier, (Argus, May 26). I believe this is likely to become yet another total waste of public funds similar to the Millennium Dome fiasco

The West Pier Trust seems to surround itself with a sense of misguided anti-Palace Pier snobbery, especially on the role of the pier in British history. This elitist attitude has been reinforced by the appearance on TV of local historians who have taken great delight in rubbishing the achievements of the Noble Organisation.

Successful piers are unashamedly noisy and vulgar places, providing basic entertainment and refreshments aimed at the masses. The Noble Organisation, with which I have no connection, has provided Brighton with one of the country's most successful attractions and which has been a major contributor to the commercial success of the town - and with all the funding coming from the private sector.

Development of the West Pier will either be an unmitigated disaster, providing services for a small elite or, as I suspect, will have to compete head on with the Palace Pier in order to survive. It is that area where I agree with Mr Biesterfield, that public funding would provide totally unfair competition.

The answer? Close down the West Pier Trust, dismantle the West Pier immediately and use the money instead to generally improve services for the mass of the population along the South Coast and not just a few elitist residents of Brighton.

-Chris Tinker, Worthing