So, Labour councillors Alun Jones, Chris Wainwright, Dan Fox and John Warmington want to see Hove seafront, lawns and promenade kept unspoiled and maintained in good condition, do they (Letters April 23)?

Well, you could have knocked me down with a feather when I read this.

For anyone who has recently walked on the Hove promenade can see the seat huts adjacent to the lawns are in a disgusting state of repair with windows missing or badly vandalised.

One seat hut appears to be missing and has not been replaced and another is badly damaged and, no doubt, will join the missing list and not be replaced.

And what about the seats that line the prom by the beach or those that did once line the prom but no longer do?

I estimate we have lost half the seats that had fallen into disrepair - removed, never to be replaced.

From the bottom of Grand Avenue to Brunswick Square, where once 12 seats were, there are only three left, one of which cannot be sat on because wooden slats are missing and others need attention.

Wooden seats have been replaced with iron ones in most parts of Hove. The majority of these are badly rusted and will cost a fortune to repair properly because they need cleaning back to bare metal and priming or rust will set in again in weeks.

Whoever decided to use metal seats should be awarded the CDM & WC for services to the Royal Sussex County Hospital! I bet they have been doing a roaring trade in haemorrhoid operations since their introduction.

They say they want to keep Hove promenade unspoiled and maintained - well, prove it, councillors, by giving us back our seats of wood instead of freezing iron.

Mend the huts, surface the prom and use a few pots of paint to make it all look attractive to visitors and residents alike.

After all, it is our money rotting away.

<letter?

I would like to commend R G Jenkins for his perceptive comment about the forthcoming election (Letters, April 21).

As he says, the present system of voting for a party whose policies we agree with has to be the best system available.

Independents have little power and can rarely influence council decisions. As committee places are given on the basis of proportional representation, they tend to be given just one sub-committee to sit on.

They do not get a place on the all-important policy and resources committee that makes almost all the major decisions.

As well as their ward work, councillors have to make often very difficult decisions about how Brighton and Hove is run, about budgets and council tax, education, social services, waste policy, highway matters and many others.

I would urge all residents to vote for the party they can best trust to make these decisions that affect all our lives.

-J West, Hove