Mr Mernagh of Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership recommends acceptance of the city plan.

One paragraph of his article stood out: “It’s not just about housing. It protects sites for jobs, and our unique culture, with policies on offices, theatres, cinemas, leisure facilities and hotels. It sets architectural and design standards that will prevent a repetition of mistakes of the past.”

Would those mistakes include the permission for the Circus Street development (where planning officers ignored their own policies on building height)? Would these policies improve the quality of planning decisions?

At the council’s meeting to decide approval of Circus Street, a councillor asked how many affordable homes were to be included.

One of our own planning officers replied that the figure couldn’t be revealed until permission was granted for the scheme.

How are councillors expected to decide permission for development if they are not given all the relevant information? I am concerned that the local planning office is not fit for purpose.

In the Argus (October 7), an article concerning an open air theatre, funded by a charity, is not only beset with conditions which the planning office fail to impose on commercial developers, it is also being asked for £26,000 to be spent on cycling and pedestrian improvements.

The officers in the planning department are not elected. They will not go when the Greens do. A public investigation into the workings of this department should start as soon as possible.

Penny Hajduk,

Manton Road, Lower Bevendean,

Brighton