I expect readers will share my disappointment in Councillor Simon Battle's attitude towards Councillor Mark Barnard's idea for the introduction of loft conversion for council homes.

Coun Battle should know there is a desperate need for three-bedroom council or housing association houses in Hove and, owing to the housing crisis which, under his Labour administration, is becoming far worse, their availability is now becoming a rare event.

There are many families who have been waiting patiently on the housing register for years - desperately seeking an upgrade and who, under present circumstances, will be waiting for many years to come - who would leap at a conversion if their home was suitable.

If loft conversions are prevalent in the private sector, why not consider this approach for the public sector rather than dismiss it out of hand?

-Coun Peter Lewis, Conservative spokesman for housing, Brighton and Hove City Council