Another winter roosting season is drawing to a close for the West Pier starlings and an ever-increasing number of people have been enjoying their spectacular aerial displays.

Major redevelopment is planned for the pier from this summer, work which is vital if this important but neglected part of Brighton's heritage is to be rescued.

However, I fear this redevelopment will drive the starlings out of their sanctuary and deprive us of this fabulous free entertainment. To me, the starlings are as important a part of Brighton life as the pier and its unique architecture.

I hope Argus readers will join me in asking the West Pier Trust how it intends to safeguard the future of these fascinating birds.

If the trust truly believes it is impossible for the starlings to remain on a redeveloped pier, it should support the proposal, as reported in The Argus in December, for a purpose-built starling refuge nearby.

It would be a tragedy if in saving one of Brighton's irreplaceable assets we were to lose another.

-Dominic Franklin, Springfield Road, Brighton