Selma Montford rightly criticises Explore Living, the company aiming to build a tower block estate in Brighton Marina, over its consultation of residents (Letters, January 22). It seemed to me more like a marketing exercise.

We should be able to rely on Brighton and Hove City Council to call time on these sort of practices.

Sadly we cannot. The developers' consultation was followed by what I regard as a sham consultation by the council.

The problem residents are up against is that both council and developer, for their own different reasons, want to fill the marina with tower blocks and, despite their protests to the contrary, neither seems interested in hearing what would have emerged from a genuine consultation.

What is truly disheartening is that while central government is delegating more and more power to local councils on the assumption that this will be in the best interests of local people, our council seems to have lost interest in what local people want. It must uphold certain basic standards of honesty and transparency. I believe that what is happening represents a crisis in local democracy.

  • Brian Simpson, Savebrighton, The Cliff, Brighton