A HIGH profile development like Brighton Marina was always going to attract interest from elsewhere, be it London or China and Saudi Arabia, as has been the case.

We are all used to Brighton Marina and know it well, but its mere name to the outsider will no doubt be attractive.

They will know of our beach, maybe The Lanes, the excellent universities and the nightlife.

Throw in a marina and housing will no doubt represent a big pull for those with the big bucks.

But coming at a time when housing is such a sensitive subject and is in such short supply, makes the prices and the image seem very insensitive.

To some it will be akin to images of yuppies waving their cash in your face in Margaret Thatcher's era, with many being left behind.

Many will never be able to afford their own home, let alone at £427,450 for a one bedroom flat.

These prices are quite something and are very hard to swallow.

The development is almost a victim of circumstance though, as we would not be so shocked at such prices in swanky parts of London, for example.

If the developers are marketing these flats along those lines and selling them then they are doing well and they do have a point in saying that it frees up other properties in the city which would have otherwise been taken up by wealthy foreign students who will now live in the marina.

But the development exposes the real problem - the lack of affordable housing which must be addressed before the city is too expensive to live in to retain its diversity.