As a Brightonian born and bred but now living away, I am filled with despair at the prevailing attitudes concerning the former West Pier.

Where is the foresight and imagination? There would appear to be those who want to recreate the pier in all its 19th Century Victorian glory.

Thank goodness our great grandfathers had the wisdom not to build a replica of the old Chain Pier when it was swept away by a storm.

If they had done so perhaps we would never have been blessed with the Palace and West Piers. The West Pier may have been listed and a fine example of its type in its time and context but it exists no longer except as unsightly wreckage polluting the seashore.

Then there are those who want to dress up the wreckage like some Neptune version of Dickens' Miss Faversham trying to justify the retention under the guise of some half-baked minority fancy.

Clear away the remaining debris and start again from scratch I say. After all, there is a plethora of Victorian seaside piers scattered all round the coastline of Britain.

What is needed is a new pier, innovative, imaginatively-designed for the 21st Century, something to regenerate the fortunes of Brighton. It should be built using modern alloys and materials.

Originally one purpose of seaside piers was to provide a promenade for people to stroll over the sea.

A modern pier ought to be able to permit strolling over and under the sea. The technology exists - many aquaria worldwide now have transparent, walk-through tunnels where the marine life can be observed swimming around you.

These could be readily adapted to a sea environment. A pier need not necessarily have to stick out to sea like a sore thumb.

Why not, for example, build an elliptical pier of two legs joined offshore at the apex and enclosing a lagoon.

Let us not fall into the trap of smothering such a lagoon with boats - almost every inlet and haven in the developed world has already been sullied with acres of boatyard slums and back to back boats despoiling the natural beauty of once open vistas.

Instead, let the lagoon be a sanctuary for marine wild life such as dolphins, seals and the like.

Imagine now, if you will, the attraction of a walk-through tunnel under a lagoon like this.

With a geometrically-shaped pier it should be possible to provide a jogging and a cycle track up one leg, down the other and along the seafront.

For the less active and the handicapped an elevated monorail over the jogging/cycle tracks is suggested.

Pods along the pier legs could be used for children's activity areas, solariums, hydrotherapy pools, puppet theatres and so on.

Imaginative ideas are boundless so let's not use them for the usual seaside/pierhead tat.

Fine words, fine ideas, you may say, but who is going to pay for this?

The answer, fortunately, is to hand.

Legislation is going to allow the implementation of Las Vegas-style casinos. Build one at the apex of the new pier. The profits would pay for all the rest and more.

I'll even propose a name for consideration. What about calling this venture "The Brighton Lagoon Pier and Casino".

It's up to you, Brighton people - stick in the past or move into the future.

-EJ Avery, Wilmslow, Cheshire