The basic problem with the secondary schools admissions system in Brighton is that there are not enough places at the in-demand schools. As long as there is a shortage of places in popular schools, any so-called solution will simply satisfy parents in
Congratulations to Brighton and Hove City Council for coming top. Reports in the Press say Brighton and Hove issued 168,172 parking tickets last year and was only beaten in number by Birmingham, with 174, 852. But with less than a quarter of the population
I live in the Queen's Park area of Brighton and have a child in Year 5. The proposals to change the admissions criteria finally gave us a real chance of having some choice of where our children go to secondary school - all us east Brighton parents have
The close I live in put up Christmas lights and had charity donation boxes. We would like to say a big thank you to everyone who made donations towards motor neurone disease. We raised £1,154.48, which was doubled by my husband's employer, to £2,308.96
In trying to put down Councillor Sue John's support for the Gatwick Express (Letters, January 10), councillors Norman, Oxley and Kemble show even greater ignorance. Firstly, the Gatwick Express takes people from London Victoria to Gatwick Airport, so
How sad to hear Southern Counties Radio is dropping four of its best radio presenters. They were all a lovely mix of Radio 2 and Radio 4 types but part of one big happy family at the same time. The listening figures have dropped because the station's
While I agree the amount of traffic is increasing, half the road problems around here are caused by weird planning decisions. At my local bus stop, why has the pavement been purposely extended towards the centre of the road so that nothing can pass while
Lecturers could vote for industrial action over wages. Ballot papers will today land on the doormats of lecturers in new universities, including the University of Brighton, and higher education colleges across Sussex. About 19,000 lecturers across England
An urgent summit is being held this week to discuss how a teacher was cleared to work in schools despite being accused of grooming a teenager for sex over the internet. Mark Dunn, West Sussex County Council cabinet member for children's services, was
I was sorry to learn actor Shelley Winters had died recently, aged 85. She was a leading US character actress with vaudeville and stage experience. She made more than 100 films, including What A Woman (1943), and Two-Man Submarine (1944), and, later on
More than 1,000 people attended a national demonstration in protest at the continued imprisonment of nine British residents in Guantanamo Bay. Brighton organisation Save Omar is lobbying for justice for Guantanamo detainee Omar Deghayes, from Saltdean
Whoever is proposing the Gatwick Express terminate at Three Bridges is thinking out of the box. Brighton Station often suffers from congestion in the rushhour. Perhaps Brighton trains could terminate at Lewes instead? -Alex Palmer, Brighton
I am severely disabled and hoped, with help, to go shopping at Tesco in Dyke Road, Brighton, one morning recently. I was taken to the shop's entrance but it was chaotic and completely blocked by schoolchildren. The manager of the shop should have cleared
I was delighted to learn of Lewes District Council's (LDC) move to challenge the outrageous decision by John Prescott to allow the stadium at Falmer to go ahead. The last thing the wonderful people of Falmer need is hundreds of hooligans rampaging through
I have great sympathy for the emergency services, which are often obstructed in their work by thoughtlessly-parked cars (The Argus, January 5). Our parking teams target illegal parking wherever it occurs but they do so especially where vehicles are causing
I would like to respond to your editorial comment about transgender people (The Argus, January 19). As a transgender person myself, I think it was good of The Argus to highlight the fact we deserve recognition, respect and full equality in the eyes of
Crawley are in a relegation "war" and must toughen up to have any chance of survival. That is the view of tough-tackling midfielder Danny Brown after defeat at Hereford left Reds three points off the bottom of the Conference. The consensus this season
Albion discovered to their cost again the difference between the dominating top two and the rest of the teams in the Championship. When you are slack against Reading and Sheffield United you are ruthlessly punished. At Reading last month the Seagulls
Supersub Colin Kazim-Richards wants a place back in the starting line-up after becoming Albion's new top scorer. The young striker fired his fifth goal of the season, all of them from the bench, towards the end of Saturday's 3-1 defeat at promotion-bound
Traders fear Sussex Police could kill a shopping precinct by building a new station in place of parking spaces. Members of Lewes Chamber of Commerce are worried shopkeepers will lose customers if 50 spaces at the North Street car park are lost to make
A man accused of murder visited his alleged victim's home shortly before she was stabbed to death, a jury heard. Melanie Gray's half-naked body was found in a hostel in Crawley in April last year. She was repeatedly stabbed before her killer set fire
Householders packed a meeting to campaign for better flood defences. More than 300 people crowded into Lewes Town Hall for the meeting held by Lewes Flood Action. The group was there to launch a nationwide letter-writing campaign to demand more money
Animal rights activists and Green Party members staged a protest against a proposed seal enclosure. The campaigners stood at the entrance to the Palace Pier, Brighton, and urged the public to sign a petition against the Sea Life Centre plans. The Green
High-tech drug-testing equipment has exposed alarming levels of drugs in pubs and clubs in a seaside town. Police armed with a small swab have been collecting particles from surfaces such as tables, toilet seats and chairs in Eastbourne. The swabs are
A few artists I loved in my student days are making even better music now. Skye Edwards is one of them. No longer a part of the trip-hopping trio Morcheeba - there seem to be some unresolved emotional issues - Skye was sensational as she launched her
Flamenco is a type of emotionally intense gypsy song, which can sometimes get a bit too overpowering. To an uneducated observer such as myself, the wailing of the singers and Yasaray Rodriguez's foot-clomping sometimes seemed to verge on the hysterical
Celebrity Big Brother contestant Preston was furious when he discovered George Galloway had been up to his usual trick of discussing nominations. As The Ordinary Boys singer from Worthing read out the latest task, he discovered the Respect MP had confessed
Ministers have barred two councils from adopting a ten-year waste strategy for dealing with millions of tonnes of household waste. The Government Office for the South East (GOSE) - which has a final say on the document - has told East Sussex and Brighton
Political banter isn't the kind of talk you would expect to hear at a speed-dating night. But next week, youngsters from Hastings will apply speed-dating rules to tackle their councillors on hot topics. At the end of the evening, the politicians will
Cyclists have been getting a fair amount of bad press lately. Simply thanks to some inconsiderate bike users, anyone hopping on a bike, rather than behind a steering wheel, seems to be deemed an irresponsible and inconsiderate yob until proven otherwise
A conservation group has been struck a blow after losing an appeal for chalk mounds to remain on historic Telscombe Tye. The South Downs Joint Committee (SDJC) has been ordered to remove thousands of tonnes of chalk and waste which was dumped on the site
The recent garage blaze in Poets Corner, Hove (The Argus, December 24), led me to question the wisdom of allowing industrial units containing explosive chemicals to be sited in a densely-packed residential area. Was Brighton and Hove City Council aware
A wife has paid tribute to her husband who suffered severe burns as he tackled a chip pan fire. Peter Quincey, 49, received first-degree burns to his arms, legs, hands and feet after trying to throw a burning deep-fat fryer out of his front door. He dropped
Householders are failing to recycle enough rubbish. Damning figures out today reveal the county has some of the lowest recycling/ composting improvement rates in England. The figures also show low recycling/composting rates in some districts, which the
I recently passed the proposed site for the Community Stadium near Falmer early one Monday morning and the amount of light pollution and noise, even at that time of day, was high. Street lights and those from the University of Sussex beamed way up into
Chichester took points off the title chasers for the second week running to keep things interesting at the top of division one. Adie Girdler's men followed up last week's 1-1 draw at Horsham YMCA by toppling leaders Ringmer 2-1. Wide men James Smith and
Danny Bloor has challenged his Worthing players to bounce back from a disappointing defeat by beating the league leaders. The Rebels went down 2-0 to AFC Wimbledon in front of a crowd of 2,253 at the Gladwish Stadium on Saturday. It was their second successive
Part panto, part fantasy, Through The Wormhole is as mad as a box of frogs. The stage creation of writer, composer and visual artist Eleanor Gamper, it conjures up a crazy, cosmic Brighton where anything is possible. Set in the future, with a cast of
A £1 million improvement scheme to draw visitors to a theatre district is expected to be given the go-ahead this week. New Road, at the centre of Brighton, will be given a makeover by international designers if the project is given the green light by
A hotel voted the dirtiest in Britain hit back today, saying it received few complaints. The Russ Hill Hotel near Gatwick received the unwanted title in travellers' choice awards organised by online company TripAdvisor. A review of Russ Hill by a guest
You've had a hard day at work and had to fight through the rush-hour traffic to get home. The last thing you want to do is pop round to your granny's to try to fix her washing machine or check up on your Uncle Albert after his hip operation. Well, now
Hotel groups planning to open gambling complexes in Brighton and Hove are likely to vie for new "super casino" licences. If successful, venues could have hundreds of Las Vegas-style high jackpot slot machines lined up in rows, changing the face of the
A parish council has added funding to a legal challenge against Brighton and Hove Albion's plans for a stadium at Falmer. Rottingdean Parish Council is donating £2,500 to the fighting fund to help Lewes District Council's legal bid. A report in this month's
Two Albanians who butchered a man in the street in the bloody climax of a family feud had their sentences upheld by Appeal Court judges. Vionest Dema and Flamur Topali, both 32, were jailed for life in March last year for the murder of 25-year-old Altin
Villagers have pledged more than £6,000 to save ancient woodland from development. The 12-acre plot, home to a range of wildlife, including deer, rabbits, foxes, newts and butterflies, is up for sale with a price tag of £40,000. The privately-owned plot
TV chef Rick Stein is to be awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Brighton. The award is for his significant national contribution to the hospitality industry and local food production. It will be made at the university's graduation ceremony
The next mayor of Brighton and Hove has been named as David Smith. The long-serving Conservative councillor from Woodingdean, Brighton, will take over as the city's ceremonial leader in May, when current mayor Bob Carden will become his deputy. Coun Smith
