Having read your article today re the bollard falling on the visitor to Brighton, I have to say I really believe that this current and previous councils should be thoroughly ashamed and disgusted with themselves.

Why? Because over the years they have wantonly wasted money on white elephants such as the ‘wheel’ and the up and coming ‘eye’ that are not used by the locals or won’t be used by the locals due to costs.

What they should have done but have grossly neglected is to invest in the ‘footfall’ infrastructure of the city – the bread and butter structures like the bollards along the seafront and the railings.

But most importantly the steps down to the Madeira Drive seafront from the top of Marine Parade. These are what the people of Brighton & Hove want and also what visitors to the city want.

The lower promenade should have been invested in a long time ago with preventative maintenance to these historic and beautiful fittings.

I was not able to use the steps down to the seafront because they are caged off and to walk down to the Sea Life centre or along to Dukes Mound to get to the lower part of the seafront is downright disgusting, especially for the disabled.

So instead of wasting money on white elephants that have no real meaning to Brighton or its future concentrate on the here and now and invest in our long, beautiful and historic heritage.

Listen to the residents of the city and not the jingle jangle of money going to fill council coffers.

It is, in my opinion, this total neglect of the infrastructure that is the problem.

Get that right and then you can look to expensive expansion programmes.

Stephen Bennett, Kemp Town, Brighton, West Sussex