For decades Brighton's historic Birdcage Bandstand has stood in the shadow of its more famous neighbour, the West Pier.

As the furore has raged over the future of the pier, the listed bandstand has been quietly rotting.

Now councillors hope the Heritage Lottery Fund, which this year withdrew cash earmarked for restoring the pier, will be more sympathetic to this less costly and less controversial project.

Brighton and Hove City Council is preparing a bid for cash to help pay for a full renovation of the disused landmark, although its future use remains in question as traffic noise would probably drown out live music.

A report by conservation architects Julian Harrap shows the restoration would cost £241,000 and the council would have to pay ten per cent if its bid was successful.

It would be another phase of the seafront development initiative.

Selma Montford, secretary of the Brighton Society, said she was impressed by the report.

She said: "This showed it could be repaired on-site and its condition was not as serious as it had appeared."

But she added: "We were horrified demolition of the geometric surrounding walls had taken place and they were being replaced by new walls surfaced with bricks.

"An artist is preparing a scheme for the surrounding area under the community art programme without a use for the Birdcage Bandstand first being established.

"We are worried this scheme will not show sufficient respect to the bandstand.

"It should be maintained as a jewel on the seafront but a new use, possibly a cafe, should be found for the two lower storeys."

External repairs have been carried out by the council, including weatherproofing on the roof.

The council says the bandstand will be put back in its historic setting in a contemporary way that complements the surrounding improvements.

A spokeswoman said: "The setting of the bandstand has been studied carefully and we believe the design is sensitive to the original layout of 1883.

"We have removed the walls which were added in the Thirties and not part of the original design.

"They are being replaced with lower walls, in keeping with the rest of the award-winning seafront development initiative.

"We have retained the original walls around the bandstand.

"We cannot say what the bandstand will finally be used for as we have not yet put together our design brief.

"We agree that traffic noise would probably rule out regular band music and that a cafe could be an option.

"We have had discussions over whether to reinstate the bridge leading to the bandstand but this will depend on the final use.

"We have commissioned a local artist to to work on a design for the public art area between the petanque terrain and bandstand.

"The aim is to link the two areas together and encourage visitors to investigate the area more closely.

"This could include a series of pathways, trails, mazes or puzzles."