FURTHER to Donna Lee's letter in The Argus, we are mystified as to why she should imagine that people cannot care about ALL elements of Madeira Drive and how they are being ruined by Brighton and Hove City Council which is increasingly being revealed as Green in name only.

Not only has Ms Lee clearly missed the article in which the council admitted the destruction of the green wall was deliberate as it was considering putting a cycle lane at Duke's Mound, but it has also decimated the tamerisk trees further along - apparently because they were "non-native" - not because they were unsuitable for the often-harsh seafront environment or did not host other plant species.

And wildlife was also destroyed during nesting season which is a crime against the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. So much for environmentalism and biodiversity.

A local resident informed us that the only reason the roots had been left was because someone pointed out the root network was underpinning the slopes. Building Green was apparently not even consulted before any of this was done, despite working closely with the council for the past decade.

For Ms Lee's information, as citizens who live in the city, we walk or cycle to Madeira Drive on a regular basis, and Ollie occasionally visits on his Vespa. We seldom if ever drive along Madeira Drive, supposing that driving is now some sort of crime in this city.

We care passionately about the heritage of Madeira Drive, both architectural and environmental, and the events that Madeira Drive plays host to which bring in vital millions of pounds to the city every year and often fill city hotels and guest houses when they do.

We also see vintage vehicles as a tremendous tribute to environmentalism. Some are more than a century old, so have outlived their carbon production footprint, were built to be infinitely repairable, have few if any mod cons using up power and are low horsepower in comparison to modern vehicles.

How many electric vehicles are as repairable and will stand the test of time, let alone look so good in visitor photographs?

Madeira Terraces is 124 years old so will also be a fine testament to greenness and surviving the test of time when restored. We urge the council to make restoration a priority as for more than seven years the terraces have been allowed to deteriorate even further while vast amounts of pedestrian space have been closed off and denied to locals and visitors.

There is nothing wrong with wanting the city to thrive and recognising it is a visitor destination which, as such, must be welcoming to visitors, including offering parking, particularly now so many Britons will be holidaying at home for the foreseeable future and the student market is vastly reduced from what it was owing to two years of interrupted studies leading to alternative education choices. We also have a railway system which is almost non-functioning at weekends and an irregular coach service.

Let's be realistic as well as green and call for a reversal of all experimental traffic orders which are actually creating gridlock and pollution, not solving it.

We are no longer a manufacturing city and our bus network has gone electric. In addition, many people now have hybrid and other low emission or electric vehicles so emissions are naturally going down anyway. It is not for our council to paralyse our city and economy by making changes to our roads without our consultation and consent and without any environmental impact studies to back up their allegations of pollution.

Visit Madeira Drive right now. It is like a war zone, not something you'd send a tour bus down to have visitors admiring. It needs urgent restoration to its former glory as a prime income generation area and spiritual home of the mods and bikers.

Madeira Drive is a destination for everyone to enjoy. We need it to be attractive again with our iconic Madeira Terrace restored, our unique heritage seafront lamps back up, visitor parking (the money from which was also supposed to go into Madeira Terrace restoration fund, so it's interesting the council sought to close Madeira Drive only months after making this decision) and everything freshly painted and welcoming. We need a city of which we be proud.

Laura King and Ollie Wilson

Save Madeira Drive Campaign