As convenor of the Hova Group, I was delighted to learn English Heritage has notified Brighton and Hove City Council of its disapproval of the King Alfred plan in its entirety (The Argus, April 26) - even if there is some ambiguity.

It even seems appropriate I adopted the old Latin name Hova, the letters giving us the slogan Heritage Over Vandalism, Actually.

The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) has, I understand, limited its disapproval to the peripheral blocks.

I strongly object to the two 20-plus storey blocks. I consider these so bizarre and alien in every respect to Hove seafront and its conservation areas that the impact of the other eight blocks has been somewhat ignored as "peripheral".

In fact, it was just such developments, about ten storeys in height, which formed the "high-rise" trend that threatened our heritage in the Seventies when I became borough planning officer of Brighton.

Jean Calder's article on conflicting opinions on local planning decisions (The Argus, April 16) refers to an anonymous writer who wished that, at my age, I would " just shut up and let our city evolve".

At my age I have 60 years of planning experience - I took my first course in 1946 at Rangoon University and retired as chief planning officer in 1983 - but I have continued to take a great interest, including writing and lecturing.

Given that experience, what I can truly claim is I cannot recall any previous proposal so alien to a particular locality, or to the very image of a town, than that for the King Alfred site.

-Ken Fines, Hove