A campaign to restore Bognor's storm-damaged pier will be given a kick start next month.

A new charitable trust is to be launched as part of a new bid to win lottery cash towards the renovation project, which is expected to cost millions of pounds.

The new trust is also expected to launch a public appeal for funds after it is formed at a meeting on January 16.

The precise amount of money needed to restore the pier is not yet known.

Members of a shadow trust are waiting to see the results of a structural survey carried out before Christmas.

Pier campaigner Paul Wells said: "The survey will tell us what needs to be done and will give us a better idea of the costs involved."

A previous bid to attract lottery cash towards the restoration was rejected by the Heritage Lottery Fund two years ago.

But a determined new campaign was launched after a severe storm in September 1999 ripped away a 60ft section of the pier and another 60ft had to be removed on safety grounds.

Mr Wells, a member of Bognor Heritage Project and a town councillor, said there were promising signs that a new scheme could win support.

He said: "We now hope the pier will be included as part of a wider regeneration scheme for the town.

"Some people want to see a full-length pier again with new decking and some believe we should concentrate on restoring the main buildings, but until we see the survey we cannot make any decisions."