Like Roger Lee (Letters, May 8), I too looked at the Then And Now pictures showing the loss of such fine old buildings at the bottom of West Street (The Argus May 6).

Indeed, our councils do have a lot to answer for.

Back in the 1930s, we nearly lost our entire seafront from Kemp Town to the Hove boundary; the vision then was to replace all these fine buildings with 1930s-style art deco buildings (see Embassy Court and Marine Gate).

The best one, though, was the suggestion to demolish the Royal Pavilion and replace it with a conference centre. How dangerous was that?

In my lifetime (since the late 1940s), I have seen the city lose many fine buildings.

We lost the majestic Bedford Hotel (1964). I can’t really think of any words to use to describe its replacement. The Odd Fellows Hall in Queen’s Road was replaced with a ghastly office block, of which there are too many around the place, with the exception of the fine looking Amex house, which must surely rank as the finest office building in the city, if not the county.

But, oh dear, this too is soon to be pulled down, no doubt to be replaced by another heap of concrete.

Ian Steedman, St George’s Road, Worthing