It is a bit rich of Simon Battle (December 21) not only to praise a remark from which an embarrassed Brighton and Hove Council seeks to distance itself but also to bandy charges of lunacy.

Many have questioned his own grasp of reality, for it was in these columns he made the bizarre assertion that those who do not like Brighton's plans for Hove can "always move".

One of the milder reactions to this cavalier attitude was "bloomin' cheek".

Others of us were reminded of the seed from which grew those events that drove many from their German homes.

Mr Battle's comment, however, had one good result. It galvanised the strong movement for Hove to reclaim independence, something which will make for a lively 2001 and be more likely than the city bid to win that "global attention" promised by the Place to Be wallahs.

-Christopher Hawtree, Westbourne Gardens, Hove