A dome put up on a pier 20 years ago as a temporary measure will stay for at least another three years.

Planning permission for the dome, put up at the end of Brighton's Palace Pier to replace the theatre, lapsed six years ago but was renewed by city councillors on Wednesday.

Members of the planning committee heard that an application submitted in 2003 to allow the dome to stay standing for a further three years had been lost.

Councillors approved plans to keep the dome, which houses an arcade, until January 2009, despite concerns it might never be replaced.

The theatre became unsafe in 1973 when a barge demolished half the pier head. The theatre was dismantled and put into storage with the expectation it would be resurrected. The dome was put up in 1986, sparking rumours the theatre had been lost.

Councillor Lynda Hyde called the situation "farcical".

Councillor Carol Theobald said: "I think we should refuse this and make them build a proper structure like a theatre or something very similar to what was there before."

Councillor Brian Fitch supported the application saying: "I think we are lucky the Palace Pier has survived, bearing in mind what happened to the West Pier."

John Small, a member of the Conservation Advisory Group, which advises the council on planning applications, added: "The dome is a rubbish building for this wonderful site. If we continue to allow short periods of planning permission it will show the owner it is not being considered as a permanent building."

David Biesterfield, director of the Noble Organisation, owners of the pier, said: "The theatre was authorised to be removed because it was structurally unsafe. The pier itself had suffered from years of neglect but has gone from strength to strength because of the work we have done with it since we took it over. It is now a major tourist attraction.

"We want to continue to make improvements but in recent years any major schemes we have had have been derailed.

"This has been partly down to the council's approach to the supply of attractions we want on the pier and the West Pier Project which diverted our time and resources.

"Hopefully these things are now all behind us and we can go ahead with new plans for the future."