It appears that Brighton and Hove City Council executives have been in discussions with civil servants of the Education Funding Agency and agreed that the Bhasvic college sports field would be the right site for a proposed Kings School free school.

Had they asked long-standing councillors, before their discussions, these councillors would have told them the council had declared, some years ago, that these sports fields were not available for re-development.

An agreement between local government officers and civil servants cannot be allowed to go ahead, not only for the above reasons but for the following too: if local government officers are allowed to conduct private deals which concern city land, the process could be open to abuse.

This must be stamped out immediately by local councillors, declaring, as previously stated, that the Bhasvic sports fields are not available for redevelopment.

This will send a clear message to the executive that private deals without the councillors’ involvement will not be tolerated.

It is not for local government officers to be allowed to dispose of city taxpayers’ assets without consulting the city taxpayers’ duly elected representatives – the councillors.

There are many more sites in the city which would be suitable for the civil servants of the Education Funding Agency.

But then these are probably more expensive and they, no doubt, wanted the Bhasvic land cheap.

B Bayliss, Mornington Crescent, Hove