Our city’s development should be decided by our communities and representatives who understand the local need for a balance between land for housing, jobs, and open spaces. (Green spaces at the heart of City Plan, Argus October 9.) The government’s so-called ‘localism’ agenda has in fact seen even more centralised decision-making.

As a result we now have a developers free-for-all countrywide. Councils can only introduce local controls and protections if the government rubber stamps them.

So unless Brighton & Hove satisfies the Government’s demands – including showing that we’ve looked everywhere for the potential for housing – we have no controls over development at all, anywhere in our city.

The Government’s relaxed rules mean we already have developers eyeing up our green spaces. At the moment there’s nothing we can do to stop them because even if the council turns down an application, they can overturn it by appealing to the Government.

It’s not the City Plan that means development might happen on urban fringe sites, it’s the Government’s obsession with housing at all costs, regardless of the circumstances.

It doesn’t matter to the government if we lose allotments, local pubs or business space in the process – even though we know they’re vital for our thriving communities in Brighton and Hove.

The only way that we can control the development the Government is foisting upon us, is by getting a City Plan agreed.

Councillor Phélim MacCafferty Green Party Brunswick and Adelaide Lead on City Plan