Brighton and Hove City Council seems to be succeeding in its aim of discouraging commuters from bringing their cars into the city through the re-introduction of parking meters charging extortionate rates our equivalent of London's congestion charge.

However, there are other areas where unnecessary car and bus journeys could be reduced and much-needed housing made available.

We need to look at the universities of Sussex and Brighton.

They're hardly a stone's throw away from each other.

How many students are in halls of residence at the faculties and how many travel in from elsewhere every day?

I believe Preston Barracks and Court Farm, in Patcham, may represent a unique opportunity to provide purpose-built student accommodation.

With these two buildings within walking distance of both the main campuses, they would free up accommodation, for example, in Brighton, and help reduce pressure on our roads.

If the two universities merged, the savings produced would make the scheme self financing.

Another congested area we should look at is around the Royal Sussex County and Brighton hospitals.

The new collaboration with the Princess Royal Hospital at Haywards Heath is resulting in an ever-growing number of car and ambulance journeys.

My solution would be to gradually relocate the whole complex to Toads Hole Valley (which will eventually be built on anyway), taking most hospital traffic out of town. Perhaps the Albion could use the resulting empty site? The priority should be to welcome visitors who are going to spend money here without them having to drive around looking for somewhere to park.

It would mean building some more large, well-managed and secure multi-storey car parks and the council possibly running them.

Remember, a six-storey car park takes five times as many cars as the same space at a park-and-ride site.

We should strongly oppose unelected people representing business seeking to build within the proposed National Park.

-Alan Nunn, Hove