Could we bring some balance to the argument about the proposed drug rehabilitation unit in Dyke Road? There has been an astonishing degree of vituperation from those opposed to the unit and a spate of articles and letters in support of it.

No one can do anything but applaud the efforts of those trying to recover from drug dependency and of their supportive families. But it is an unequivocal fact that a drug rehabilitation centre, by definition, has to deal with people who are not in control of their lives and cannot be safely released into the community without supervision.

Phoenix claim an approximate 70 per cent success rate. Even if this were true, can anyone tell those of us who live in close proximity to the proposed rehabilitation centre how to protect our families from the 30 per cent (or more) who will fail to cope with their drug problem and suffer relapses?

The potentially disastrous effects on the lives of children who go to the schools and playgrounds in the immediate vicinity do not bear contemplation.

We are simply saying this Dyke Road property is a totally inappropriate, badly-chosen site for such an operation and with the resources available to Phoenix they should be able to find alternative premises in an area where there is not such a heavy concentration of schools.

-S. Samson, Fairways, Brighton