I note with dismay that "despite the objections of neighbours" Brighton and Hove City Council has approved plans for the building of 50 flats on land occupied by the houses known as Preston Place, situated at the junction of Preston Park Avenue and Stanford Avenue, Brighton.

The decision beggars comprehension from any environmental perspective and has clearly been made without inspection by any member of the planning committee or, more importantly, ward councillors.

Such a visit was expressly requested by the lady whose home and personal quality of life will be most affected by the development. The proposed flats will inhibit the use of her garden both for personal pleasure and entertaining friends.

Recent planning decisions mock the declared aims of the council to care for the environment but this one must be one of the most disgraceful. Can Preston Park itself escape such lunacy?

-J. Heardley Walker, Brighton