Jan Price (Letters, July 23) makes a point about the usage of the Dorset Gardens Peace Park, Brighton. Those of us who live and work in the area would not, however, agree with her suggestions for swings and basketball nets.

Thanks to the work of the St James's Action Group and others over the past few years, St James's has recovered from the economic decay of the late Eighties and early Nineties. It is a lively, buzzing and, at times, rather noisy place. We desperately need an area of tranquility in the heart of the area. That is what the Dorset Gardens Peace Park is. The action group recently obtained a grant of £1,000 from Whitbread the brewers for much-needed plantings in the park to enhance its calm atmosphere.

It is not a desert. It is an oasis. With the newly built Dome Methodist Church and adjacent flats for elderly people, we want the Peace Park to live up to its name. We want the park and the new church to become the place where people can come to recharge their batteries before plunging back into their frantic lives.

So, please, no swings or basketball courts. Just enjoy the green tranquility of one of our most precious resources. We have too few quiet places in the city centre to lose it.

-Dr Alan Bond, Chairman, St James's Action Group, Brighton