I MUST agree with Ernie Coleman, the fixtures secretary of the Brighton, Hove and District Football League (Letters, March 1).

The pitch hire increases being imposed on local clubs by Brighton and Hove City Council will force many teams to leave the league.

I first became involved in local football about 50 years ago when the Brighton league hosted some 15 divisions.

During that time, clubs such as Old Aircorians and Pavilion had a team in every division.

Every park in the town was occupied by a host of matches on a Saturday afternoon.

This was prior to the Sunday League being formed. Popularity increased with its introduction.

It was only a week before the council’s budget meeting that the impact of such fee increases was understood.

At a meeting of the Brighton, Hove and Worthing FA, it was pointed out to me the consequences of the council’s actions in increasing pitch fees by such amounts.

My colleagues and I were made aware of the situation too late on to consider it in our alternative budget.

However, with changes back to the committee system, we will be looking to address the problem in the future.

One should also consider the ConLib coalition was initially responsible for these cuts in funding to local councils.

Labour councillor Bob Carden, Brighton and Hove City Council, also vice president of Brighton, Hove and Worthing FA