The closure of the Gardner Arts Centre (The Argus, March 13) is not only very sad, it is more importantly a retrograde step in respect of local arts culture in the city of Brighton and Hove.

The "concentration on the city centre" will only add to the transport chaos there and will be a significant loss for the University of Sussex.

The Gardner initially provided the practical side of a unique drama school at the university, where the academic and the professional were united.

There is no reason why it could not serve a similar function again in the future.

It would provide a much-needed focus for high-standard training in the South and beyond.

Sir Basil Spence may have provided the bulding's attractive exterior but it was Shaun Kenny who designed the original, multi-purpose interior, to provide for several different configurations to suit the needs of different performances.

Alas, Kenny's dream did not come to fruition. It proved to be, after a short trial, too impractical. He had not envisaged the cost of hiring a large stage crew every time the configuration had to be altered.

Thus it soon became set in one easier-to-manage form.

Nevertheless, the original artistic director, Walter Eysselinck, provided vibrant theatre to establish the Gardner as an internationally regarded venue.

Also, the early productions staged by the students at the university were of an excellent standard. I well remember Sarah Harding directing impressive productions. She is now highly regarded in the profession.

I was very surprised at the quoted cost of £12.5 million to provide "improvements and repairs".

This smacks of a figure plucked out of the air and made as high as possible in order to make sure the Gardner Arts Centre is killed stone dead. I wonder for whom and for what purpose?

  • Leonard White, Hill Crest Road, Newhaven