The West Pier partially collapsed on December 29, 2002 when a walkway connecting the concert hall and pavilion fell into the sea after being battered by storms. On January 20, 2003 a further collapse saw the destruction of the concert hall in the middle of the pier. On March 28, 2003 the pavilion at the end of the pier caught fire. Firefighters were unable to save the building from destruction because they could not reach the end of the pier - the previous collapse had destroyed the walkway. The cause of the fire remains unknown. On May 12, 2003, another fire broke out, consuming most of what was left of the concert hall. Arson was suspected. The West Pier Trust refers to the fires as the work of ‘professional arsonists’, (notwithstanding that there is no evidence linking the fires to the owners of the Palace Pier). On June 23, 2004 high winds caused the middle of the pier to completely collapse.

Despite all these setbacks, the owner of the site West Pier Trust remained adamant they would soon begin full restoration work. Finally, in December 2004, the Trust admitted defeat, after their plans were rejected by the Heritage Lottery Fund and subsequent less ambitious plans to restore only the oldest, structural parts of the pier were also rejected by English Heritage. However, in September 2005 the Trust revealed in their newsletter that they are forming further plans to rebuild the original structure with help from private funding.