For more than 50 years almost every big building in Brighton and Hove has been an architectural disappointment or, worse, a disaster.

Look at the Prince Regent pool, the Brighton Centre, King's West or the flats on Hove seafront and none of them is inspiring.

Leading councillors such as Chris Morley, in charge of the environment, are determined to change all that.

They are ensuring that top architects should come to the city and design landmark buildings which people can be proud of in the future.

Several skyscrapers are in the offing and leading architects are expressing interest in sites such as the King Alfred in Hove.

One of the towers has been designed by Piers Gough, born in Hove and a lover of the city. It is for the Endeavour garage site in Preston Road, Brighton.

Almost anything would be better than the old garage, a particularly ugly example of Sixties design. Councillors have given permission for a building to replace it.

But developer Josh Arghiros and Piers Gough are planning something more exciting and much more controversial for part of the site.

Their 16-storey swirling tower has already attracted predictable opposition.

The city council will, rightly, decide exactly where tall buildings should go.

It's hard to think that there could be a much better site than this derelict garage on the entrance road to Brighton.

The Piers Gough building may need refinements before it's acceptable.

But at least it's imaginative, bold and interesting - so much better than the bland buildings of the past half century.