The pier was closed in June 2006 over safety concerns

Hastings Borough Council has said it intends to take Ravenclaw Investments to court over the town's pier.

The council is considering several options for the future of the Grade 2 listed structure, including demolition.

A Ravenclaw spokesman said emergency work had started on the pier but legal action had slowed down its progress.

Most of the Victorian structure was closed by the council last June and the few remaining traders left the site, which is now locked up, in November.

My guess is it would cost millions to take the pier down and that is money that could be spent repairing it Michael Foster MP

Hastings magistrates backed the closure, which followed a dispute with Ravenclaw over repairs to the Victorian pier.

A report to be considered by the council cabinet on Monday proposes demolition as one option.

Others include intervention on safety grounds, private sector investment or the setting up of a trust to maintain the pier.

The report says work is currently taking place on the structure but it is believed it will only remove damaged or potentially dangerous parts of the structure.

MP for Hastings and Rye, Michael Foster, is supporting local residents who want to form a Friends of The Pier group with a view to keeping it open.

"My guess is that it would cost millions to take the pier down and that is money that could be spent on repairing it," he said.

Ravenclaw spokesman, Harmesh Pooni, said it welcomed a structural survey on the pier.

He said Ravenclaw believed the council was over-reacting considering that the pier had not been damaged in recent severe storms.

He added that the company wanted to reopen the front section of the pier by the summer.