Tim Mickleburgh, of the National Piers Society, wants immediate action before the West Pier becomes "effectively un-restorable", whatever that means (Letters, December 28).

The recent collapse of part of the pier has resulted in a spate of irrational responses about the immediate saving of the pier.

The word restoration, much used by the West Pier Trust, is inaccurate when applied to the West Pier. Even before this recent collapse, the pier was to be totally dismantled and rebuilt, incorporating what little of the original structure could be recovered and restored.

This amounts to about ten per cent of the Victorian original.

In the reconstruction of the pier, it is planned to raise the deck level by some feet to protect it from the future rise in sea levels and consequent increase in wave heights resulting from global warming.

So we shall have a rebuilt pier, a pastiche of the Victorian original, although this is not to be sneered at and is better than no pier at all, providing the city's greater heritage asset, the seafront, is not irreparably damaged by an unsuitable enabling development on the foreshore.

Following this latest collapse, it is likely a survey of the pier will be required to ascertain whether there is a possibility of large pieces of the structure breaking off and being driven by wave and current action into the Palace Pier, causing structural damage and resulting in a claim for compensation.

Spending further monies on minor repairs other than that required for safety reasons or, perhaps, for the advanced dismantling of the concert hall, seems money ill-spent.

Monies from the Heritage Lottery Fund should be reserved for the major dismantling and rebuilding project to come.

We sincerely hope the West Pier Trust, during its stewardship of the pier, has carried out a detailed and accurate survey of the structure and its buildings, such that the structural and architectural features can be readily replicated where required.

-Clive I Buxton, Secretary, Save Our Seafront, Brighton