Arise, people of Brighton, you have nothing to lose but your chains.

You have already lost your chain pier, Palace Pier, Black Rock swimming pool, football arena and countless small (Harvest Forestry) and large (Hannington's) businesses.

Who is sacrificing the tremendous and herculean efforts of small and medium sized businesses that offer a huge range of inspired and tempting services?

Why, Brighton and Hove City Council, whose most inspired piece of transport planning is to leave open a broad swathe of dual carriageway past the Hove Engineerium (from "engineering" - an old fashioned and almost obsolete term) to well-serviced and adequately car- parked offices.

Not for them sitting in a sweltering and dangerous traffic jam each Saturday in Viaduct Road.

Please, no more unenlightened and short term "London to Brighton" transport rallies which literally add more petrol to a delicate tinderbox of overcrowded streets and customer-starved businesses.

What is happening to the "Brave New City" so wholesomely advocated by Antony Seldon in his book of that name?

Where have all the visitors gone? Crawley?

Well, not quite all. I spotted one other person at 16.45 attending the superb Beatles and Stones photo gallery at Hove Museum.

Will Sir Paul McCartney be supporting his newly-acquired home/investment by a visit to this show before the end of May? The staff were a delight with three visitors to contend with and an empty tea room to drool over. Thank you, Hove museum.

Crossing the border into Brighton I found myself (reluctantly) engaged as a part time fire fighter to help extinguish a Mini ablaze outside Cissy Mo's.

Who else but me, a non-inmate of Brighton, could seize the nettle (fire extinguishers) and participate in helping to put out a fire (which was not all that far from being life threatening) rather then seizing it as a digital photo opportunity, as many did.

Good luck to Cissy Mo's and all Brighton North Laine traders who soldier on in what can only be described as difficult conditions.

Having lived and also run a business in Brighton from 1983 to 2001, I could happily and with some expertise offer advice and proposals to ease the gridlock on weekends and tempt serious investors to Brighton who, being human too, are easily put off by a casual walk around which frequently shows a city very ill at ease with itself and the world.

Public relations and spin must surely give way to honest transport and fire safety planning concepts which give the fire service half a chance and at the same time allow the Brave New City to achieve a sense of self worth and citizenship.

-Nick Thompson, Borde Hill, West Sussex