DaveR, I, and I believe, many others will wholly agree with you; the Council's conduct has been utterly disgraceful, if not illegal. The Council's conduct has been that of a rogue developer and they should be held to account, but in reality, we know that the morally correct outcome of the Council being forced to repair/renovate the pier is not going to happen. There will certainly be no private investment.
There is only going to be one sad and disgraceful outcome. It's a tragic tale of woeful incompetence.