I'm afraid Eric Waters is slightly wide of the mark when he claims that councillors Les Hamilton, Alan Robins and myself do not have our fingers on the local pulse in regard to the proposals to open a 57-bedded supported accommodation facility for people with complex mental health needs and substance misuse problems (Fingers on the pulse, Your Letters, October 11).

The issue is not the actual provision of this type of facility but is about the complete lack of warning or notice given to either councillors or local residents.

We literally were told two weeks before the first client was due to move in.

This simply cannot be right. The organisation who won the contract, SJOG, would have been in negotiations on using this building months ago and both the council and the NHS would have been aware of this. As Eric says, though, we have the YMCA building off the Old Shoreham Road and Emmaus just up from Portslade Old Village. Both of these services though were widely consulted on before they opened. Local residents and councillors were engaged with and were invited to ask questions, express concerns and get answers. This has not happened with the Old Brewery proposals and has created a public relations disaster which could have been avoided.

This helps no one of course. The health commissioners, NHS Sussex, signed up to a document this May called the Working With Communities and People Strategy. This is taken from it: "Accountability and transparency: Open and transparent decision making, with people and communities involved in governance, will support making the NHS and partner organisations accountable."

What has just happened in the case of the Old Brewery is not transparent in any shape or form. This is why local residents are so angry, Eric. They feel that they are being both taken for granted and taken for a ride.

Peter Atkinson

Independent councillor for North Portslade