As a former estates manager for the old Brighton Borough Council, I should like to correct some of the more wild statements made by Terry Wing (Letters, December 31).

The West Pier was built and owned by the West Pier Co Ltd, a statutory company set up under a special Act of Parliament which was required to authorise the construction of the Pier.

Brighton Council never owned the pier, nor did it have any involvement in the company.

It therefore follows that it was never responsible for insuring the pier, nor for its repair, maintenance or restoration.

The Pier Company was acquired by AVP Properties - a company led by the well-known Harold Poster (owner of the Metropol Hotel (as it was then called).

Later, AVP - obviously not keen on throwing good money after bad - sold the pier for £1 (not 1p), by which time it had lost its appeal as a tourist attraction.

From then, the history is quite well-known. Efforts enduring 25 or so years to raise the cash to repair the structure and the fact they failed surely says something about the views on restoration of the general public who it was hoped would contribute in their thousands.

Mr Wing mentions the barge hitting the pier and weakening it. That was the Palace Pier, not the West Pier, so let no one point any fingers at either past or present councils.

On a purely personal note, sad though it is the lovely structure that existed many years ago has fallen into ruin, I very much doubt there is any justification for spending upwards of £30 million of what would, in effect, be public money on rebuilding.

Surely any restoration of what was previously there is not now possible.

Mr Wing's letter does of course raise one very good question: Who is going to pay the substantial cost of removing what is left of the structure?

-J E Bartlett, Upper Shoreham Road, Shoreham-by-Sea