AS SUPPLIERS to the coffee industry, we say “enough is enough”.

Over the years we’ve adapted to almost constant transport tinkering by various councils: schemes that have never joined up properly.

Now the great Valley Gardens road scheme is bearing down on the Old Steine with no sign of the city council listening to the concerns of real people.

We need sensible provision for the delivery/service sector to deliver without hindrance.

Our drivers suffer a maze of one-way streets and parking restrictions and even with electric vans would still need road space to deliver what you expect to buy on the high street.

There’s no provision for delivery companies in the current preferred design for the roads around the Old Steine. It’s as if we don’t exist.

The proposed removal of the Palace Pier roundabout because of 11 accidents per year (most trivial, none fatal) is short sighted when 18 million vehicles use this junction annually.

The roundabout is essential, safe and with a simple redesign would be even safer.

Traffic lights at this junction would cause misery. We all want the prize of carbon neutrality, but it’s questionable as to whether this scheme in its current design will deliver.

Making Madeira Drive one way from the roundabout to Duke’s Mound means that someone leaving the Volks Tavern in a taxi to Brighton Station will be taken eastbound almost to the Marina before turning back via Duke’s Mound. Needless to say, deliveries to the pier, to beachfront or Madeira Terraces businesses will be even more difficult and time consuming for the downtrodden service sector.

Madeira Drive as a through road is not fit for purpose in its current state so how will it realistically link to an entry-only junction at the pier?

It’s an obstacle course of scaffolding, litter, parking bays in the middle of the road, tourists stepping in front of cars and bikes having regular collisions with pedestrians/dogs.

Quite apart from its unique uses like closing for weekend events, or as a set-down area for tourist coaches, there will need to be a left turn at the top of the incline of Duke’s Mound which coaches and vintage vehicles will struggle with.

They need the roundabout to turn around.

The council tells us to wait until the “detailed design phase” where all will be revealed.

But there’s no information about what this means and no reassurance of public inclusion.

A cross-party task and finish group will oversee phase three but the council hasn’t said who will be in this group.

Reducing car use in Brighton is a noble goal and yes we need more innovative ways to move around the city but vans, carers, disabled drivers, emergency vehicles,

HGVs and big families who just want to come to the seaside in a car shouldn’t be penalised. Just making the roads really unpleasant is counter-productive and doesn’t solve the problem of too many cars.

There is nowhere quite like Brighton.

Don’t destroy it with an over-priced, unnecessary, rushed and ill-thought-out road scheme which future generations will have to pay the price for, both environmentally and economically.

Herbert and Ward (Southern), Red Roaster Drury Tea and Coffee (Southern), Espresso Central Coffee Doctor