On Sunday afternoon I cycled to Pavilion Gardens to hear the brass band concert by the Salvation Army.

The entire vicinity was surrounded by a cacophony of sound from a pop group performing in adjacent New Road.

They had the advantage of high-powered amplifiers and the brass players’ dulcet tones were drowned out, much to the consternation of onlookers including young families, teenagers and adults. It was interesting that the teenagers were not drawn to the much louder sounds emanating from New Road.

I know the concert schedules for Pavilion Gardens are drawn up months in advance and I presume licences must be granted for public performances.

If Brighton and Hove City Council is the body for issuing such licences, why did it allow such a clash to occur? Goodness knows what overseas visitors thought. Had the amplifiers for the pop group been switched off then the two entertainments could have been conducted without the embarrassing conflict of sounds.

Good musicians should be able to rely on acoustic instruments alone.

I hope this situation will not arise again as both participants and audiences for Pavilion Gardens’ concerts will be reluctant to attend.

Mark Hatherly
Greengage, Peacehaven