Food, not solar panels, should be in our fields

Currently we produce little more than 50% of our own food (ie we import over 50% meaning that our money goes outside of UK) and therefore any loss of agricultural land equates to an increase in our balance of payments.

I have little doubt that the application will be approved since we now have a government which is dominated by the ‘Thatcher Principle’ that is that our country can follow the financial dictates of a shop, ie buying and selling.

The fatal flaw in ‘Thatcherism’ is being in ignorance of the fact that when we purchase anything which we are ourselves able to produce, a balance of payments results.

For those Conservatives who are Thatcher enthusiasts who seem to have little concept of reality, this means that we are in debt to £1 for every £1-worth of goods we import.

There would be no need whatsoever for solar farms if our political masters declared that every new building must include solar panels. Keep our agricultural land for its proper use and use wasted roofs to the advantage of us all.

Mike Thompson

Binsted Close

Eastbourne

This man is a saint

How wonderful to hear of Trevor Weeks who runs the East Sussex Wildlife Rescue risking his life once again to save a deer in trouble.

This man is a saint. In stark contrast to the two evil men who tortured and killed one in Wales. They only received an eight-week jail sentence, which I have to say is more than the usual slap on the wrist that perpetrators of animal cruelty usually get.

All the while the police and magistrates either turn a blind eye or issue pathetic sentences for this evil crime, this sort of behaviour will continue.

Sylvis Harwood

Old Shoreham Road

Hove

Why tag street art?

With memories of the so-called ‘Clacton Outrage’ still to the fore of the minds of many – I refer, of course, to the reported wholesale destruction of what was believed to have been a Banksy pigeon, pictured right, with associated migratory avians in that Essex town – Hannah Collisson is surely right to question the credentials of the self-appointed ‘minister for street vandalism without portfolio’ who apparently saw fit to ‘tag’ a Blek Le Rat mural of a violinist in Bond Street, (A Fresh View, The Argus, May 22).

While I appreciate Ms Collisson’s balanced consideration of the factors that can lend a ‘transitory’ nature to street art, I feel the general outrage to which she refers, as well as that of Le Rat himself, is more than justified.

Partial obscuration by ‘something... unimaginative’ is, sadly, a fate that can seem to befall many a denizen of the street. It is very much to be hoped that this unfortunate occurrence is a ‘one-off’ that may be, in time, if not forgotten, then, in partial mitigation, recognised as having been, however inadvertently, contributory to the broadening of a debate that desirably involves residents and visitors alike.

Perhaps we can at least console ourselves with the thought that the violinist is probably playing the hauntingly beautiful ‘Limelight’ theme from Chaplin’s film of that name – and doing so more in sorrow than in anger.

Steve Williams

Address supplied

Serious flaws exist

Many people who have seen the designs for the Valley Gardens area drawn up by the previous Green administration on the council will be seriously concerned.

These plans are seriously flawed and impractical. If implemented they could cause congestion, disruption and environmental damage to our city because they haven’t been thought out properly.

The current proposals could cause years of traffic disruption and badly affect bus users.

They could cause more transport problems because of the need to divert traffic into neighbouring streets, including residential areas.

And the Gardens themselves would have more concrete and more than 200 extra trees without ensuring environmental protection or enabling a range of recreational activities.

Some of the computer-generated designs in the council document are misleading and bizarre – including the giant, four-foot butterflies in one of the pictures.

Photographs of the Valley Gardens in this documents do not give an accurate impression of what the Valley Gardens have been like in recent decades or what they could look like if restored properly.

All the designs for Valley Gardens should be amended and the people of our city given an opportunity to comment before decisions are made.

It is surely the council’s role to ensure that projects like this are practical, environmentally-friendly and enable a range of recreational uses.

Rob Heale

Address supplied

Toast was like gum

Residing in the excellent Royal Sussex County Hospital I have nothing but praise for the very high quality achieved by everyone and everything except the toast. Why is it like chewing gum? Is it the bread or is it the toaster? Do they need a new baker or a new toaster? At least chewing gum doesn’t leave crumbs in the bed.

David Morris

Floor 8

Royal Sussex County Hospital

City Deal – for UK!

AS I understand it the Greater Brighton City Deal includes the areas of Brighton, Hove, Worthing, Shoreham, Newhaven, the South Downs National Park and the market towns of Lewes and Mid Sussex.

This will, in effect, result in Brighton and Hove City, with its population of 273,000 being replaced by Greater Brighton City with a population of 700,000, an increase getting on for 150%.

I do hope that this will not result in pay rises for the chief executive and her staff, on the grounds that extra responsibilities merit extra pay; after all, that’s the argument the rubbish collection drivers use.

At present the council executive and her staff receive around £5 million pounds a year which would go up to £12.5 million in a 150% rise.

As the theory behind City Deal seems to be that “We will be stronger if we work together” I would suggest that, instead of just Brighton, Hoveand much of Sussex, all the cities, towns, villages and settlements of England, Scotland and Wales should unite under the title of the ‘The Greater Britain Everywhere Deal’.

Eric Waters

Ingleside Crescent,

Lancing