City strategy

I can reassure Bob Gunnell that Brighton and Hove City Council has not "worked out a planning policy" such that people "can expect more high-rise buildings".

Our team working out a policy on tall buildings will not report until August or September.

We have very little space for homes and those with nowhere to live might welcome taller buildings. In previous decades planners took a relaxed attitude to alterations to high buildings such as the glazed-in balconies on Sussex Heights, Brighton.

These days, attractive design is seen as more important and we would use planning rules to ensure the appearance of tall buildings was not spoilt.

Paul Mitchell says proposals for tall buildings at the Marina are as bad as the King Alfred centre designs.

The King Alfred designs have been praised by the entirely independent South East Regional Design Panel, established by the regional development agency Seeda in 2002.

The "locked" area on Hove seafront referred to by Mrs E Hill is no longer just a renovated tennis court but a multi-use games area for local youngsters.

It was opened in time for the improving spring weather, just before Easter.

Furthermore, claims that the council intends to build on Hove lawns are totally false.

Indeed, we have recently published a leaflet outlining a seafront vision for the end of the decade, which explicitly says Hove lawns will remain as they are.

The council is not planning to spend money on a skating facility at Hove Lagoon.

Some £120,000 is being raised by local councillors and the community through grants, donations and other fundraising. It is not being built for a "famous local resident" but because local families and children campaigned for it.

We have checked and there is no serious damage from the bulldozer that keeps Hove beach in shape. Any minor damage would be rectified by routine maintenance.

The bulldozer is usually moved between locations on a lorry. The seafront would be seriously damaged by the sea but for this work.

We agree with Roy Saunders that we need a bigger, better coach station in a more user-friendly location than Pool Valley.

Again, sites are in short supply. In the meantime, passengers are sure to appreciate improvements the new managing company is planning.

Finally, in criticising the council for using the word "city", Christopher Hawtree is wrong to say Chichester never mentions it is a city and appears "all the more dignified for it".

In fact, its web site, www.chichestercity.gov.uk, mentions the word "city" 15 times on its opening page.

-Ken Bodfish, leader of Brighton and Hove City Council