Architect speaks out over pier plan

The Argus Saturday, 4 May, 2002

A LEADING architect and urban designer says he was shocked when he saw plans for two new buildings on the seafront.

The pavilions are proposed by developers St Modwen on either side of the West Pier in Brighton.

St Modwen and Brighton West Pier Trust say the buildings are needed to make restoring the Grade I listed building viable.

But Philip Andrews, Royal Institute of British Architects representative on the Conservation Area Advisory Group, said the scheme should not be approved by planners.

Mr Andrews said the limit for development on Brighton and Hove seafront east of the King Alfred island was the northern side of Kingsway and King's Road.

The new pavilions would be two storeys high, 14m deep and more than 100m long.

He said: "It is a major development no matter how you dress it up.

"If this is approved by the local authority, it will end up having egg on its face."

Mr Andrews said if that was the price to pay for saving the pier, then it was not worth saving.