I PERSONALLY hate the Palace Pier in its current form. It is a blot on the seafront that perpetuates a culture that brings Brighton down and entrenches its reputation as a cheap, out-of-date seaside destination.

Today there are very much two Brightons: the inland one of vibrant creative industries, modern restaurants and a dynamic population – and the seafront of tacky sideshows, fish and chips, rock and assorted paraphernalia.

Unfortunately for Brighton, a large proportion of outsiders see it primarily as a destination for the latter rather than the former.

I have been working in Brighton now for five years, while still living in London, and I can say that this is pretty much universally the impression that Londoners have of the city. This is a massive public relations problem.

Luckily though, it is still a big draw, otherwise commercially it would fail (as many other British seaside resorts have).

Indeed, whenever Brighton Fringe happens, people ask me how we compete with Brighton Festival – I reply that Brighton Festival is quite irrelevant really as the biggest competitor to Brighton Fringe is actually the seafront.

However, this is a ticking time bomb and, in good time, I believe that the Brighton seafront will go the same way as other faded Victorian seaside resorts before it and become an embarrassment.

There have been some attempts to turn the arches by the Pier into an artists’ hub but it hardly makes a dent in what is currently on offer, which is more akin to West Street than anything else.

The current Brighton Pier is a beautiful photo opportunity on the outside and a disappointingly poor amusement arcade on the inside, surviving as a result of the endless day trippers coming from all over the country, and indeed the world, to try it out just once before going away for ever.

Brighton has the largest number of day trip visitors of anywhere in the UK after London, mostly due to the pier and pavilion, so there seems to be no shortage of people willing to spend their two pence on those machines, via Sports Direct and Primark on their way back to their coaches.

I see the parades of them every day from my office in the Old Steine.

Brighton needs attractions that are dynamic and more ahead of the curve.

The pier is a golden opportunity to create a destination that fits in with the times.

Get that right and the rest of the seafront will follow suit: proper restaurants, bars, shops, galleries, a decent performance venue. Yes, maybe still some of the same sideshows but that should not be the sole raison d’être as it currently is.

In short, a chance to move into the 21st century.

The i360, controversial as it may be in certain quarters, is the start of something that can change the perception of that part of the city’s seafront.

It should not be a shiny corporate entity either but at least it will be bringing a new angle to attract visitors to the city.

One just has to look at the lamentable state of the promenade above Madeira Drive as a forerunner for the way that the rest of the seafront could well go otherwise.

But for the endless stream of car rallies and charity events, Madeira Drive would be an utter wasteland.

Brighton is extremely lucky to be located where it is and to have a (relatively to the UK) good rail connection but the council is complacent if it relies on the visitor number successes the city has so far – successes that the council has presided over largely as an outsider.

It’s time for the Brighton seafront to learn from the rest of the city and move along.

Why not a Michelin star restaurant on the pier or a location for local artists to establish themselves, a theatre, cinema or a small conference venue?

I believe it is still there for the taking and hasn’t been fixed properly anywhere else along the local seafront, (except perhaps with Riddle and Finns).

Brighton Marina had the chance to become something the rest of Brighton seafront never was, but instead became a tacky, cynical, empty, commercial pastiche of what is already everywhere else. What a waste.

Even though I still happen to live in London, due to what I do, I consider myself a proud, passionate Brightonian and I long for a seafront that reflects what the rest of the city has woken up to in terms of visitor and local resident provision.”