REGARDING the article on extending the urban fringe (Argus, June 26), I think that it is outrageous to consider any more housing development north of the A27.

The countryside is an extremely valuable commodity that must be preserved for future generations. And, quite apart from that, how on earth would our local infrastructure of roads, hospitals, schools and all the rest of it accommodate all the extra cars and people.

The root of the problem is the increasing population.

It should be the primary concern of any government to control the size of the population.

Easy to say but hard to do, but if we cannot achieve this then I am afraid that the future is grim.

To use a simple analogy, what would you do if you had a leaking roof and you were gathering the water in an overflowing bucket.

Would you get a bigger bucket, or would you repair the hole in the roof?

Richard Shaw, Aberdeen Road, Brighton