Well I thought the same. Only the owners of the palace pier had the motive. But it turns out there was another...It sat there in ruins for decades and when on the brink of getting funds for restoration suddenly burns down.An empty pier surrounded by the sea , what possible accident could have started that fire.If the Police are not still investigating they want shagging ,every body in Sussex knows the East pier owners burnt the West pier down .
My uni dissertation was based around piers. The collapse and fire happened whilst I was writing it, which was quite handy, as the West Pier was my prime example.