Richard Cairns, the new Head of Brighton College, accuses Brighton and Hove of "lacking in vision" (The Argus, March 17), just as his predecessor, Anthony Seldon, did.

He has only been in Brighton and Hove for three months. He is still a newcomer.

I think we do have a tough planning committee which is safeguarding life in this city by rejecting some plans because they do not meet the city's planning guidelines. These are rejected with good reason.

The committee is doing its job. What is wrong with that? Its members are not there to placate architects who have repeatedly submitted silly plans.

Architects are simply not adhering to the guidelines and, accordingly, their plans do not get through.

That is why we have a Planning Committee, thank goodness.

The old Caffyns site at the bottom of Roman Road, Hove, has been unanimously rejected twice by the planning committee. Once for a 12-storey dwelling and then for a six-storey block.

The decisons were not based solely on height but concerns about the flats being too dense etc. The plans do not meet the city guidelines, so why do pople put these plans forward?

No wonder they are rejected. When we are using people's council tax money, we have the right to speak out about what we want for our city and it is not great tower blocks of flats for people to live in, no matter who builds them.

I don't want to "give tall towers a chance", as Tony Mernagh states.

I care for people's lives too much for that.

-Jackie Corbett, Hove