What the Noble Organisation was trying to do is ignoble.

Instead of welcoming the prospects of competition and a chance to demonstrate how it would fare with two piers in Brighton, it just wants to stifle free trade and create a monopoly for itself.

With two piers, Brighton would be more attractive for tourists and locals alike.

Instead of thinking of the good that restoration of the West Pier will do for the city, Noble is just thinking of the bottom dollar and its base profit. Shame on it.

What excellent news that the application for a High Court review by the Noble Organisation has been thrown out (The Argus, July 12).

I hope we shall soon see some work start on the reconstruction of the West Pier.

Noble director David Biesterfield seems to be saying: "Unfair competition. We want to be the only pier in Brighton."

He is clearly not old enough to remember when the West Pier was a going concern. I am and spent many happy hours on both piers in my youth.

In those days, Brighton's two piers co-existed happily because they were not in direct competition and offered significantly different experiences.

The West Pier Trust has made it clear it does not intend to compete with the Palace Pier but, in the tradition of the old West Pier, to provide more "upmarket" facilities.

Mr Biesterfield and his company are in danger of shooting themselves in the foot.

Their vendetta against what they see as a potential competitor is winning them no friends and alienating them from the local population.

They may not care about this, feeling insulated from local opinion in their cosy North East offices. But they should beware.

I have not set foot on the Palace Pier since this dispute began and, while I am sure they can manage very well without my meagre contribution to their entertainments, there may well be others who not only boycott their pier but mount a campaign against it.

-Peter EH Bailey, Brighton