The lack of vision, imagination and comprehension shown by successive Brighton councils is both staggering and deeply depressing.

Horror after horror has been inflicted on the Brighton front. Just to name a few, the ghastly Kingswest, an architectural joke, the Thistle Hotel, an exercise in mediocrity, and the disaster of The Terraces, promised as an upmarket development but in fact a collection of tat.

The spectacular view of the pier and the sea is now obscured by corrugated metal roofs plus metal fences to prevent people climbing on to the roofs. Is this an improvement to the Brighton front?

Now last but certainly not least the Brighton Marina project.

In Spain, on the costas, blocks of flats were constructed in the 1960s. The Spanish government realised in the 1990s what harm had been done to their coast and now wants to progressively demolish them as the flat owners die off.

Brighton and Hove City Council apparently approves of the idea of high-density buildings on the front. It has to be said this would be probably the only marina in Europe transformed into a high-rise housing estate.

One has the impression that if a speculator with the collaboration of a compliant mediocre architect has the wherewithal to construct his horror in Brighton he will get the green light. It’s hard to imagine a high-rise housing estate being built in Bath opposite Royal Crescent.

Brighton is still a beautiful town but its front is being progressively ravaged. There is nothing wrong with modern architecture. The De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill is a thing of great beauty which shows the vision of one man. If only its contemporary equivalent could be created here in Brighton.

For goodness sake let’s hope the council will surprise us and show they realise their responsibilities in keeping this town well planned and harmonious and will not cede to vested interests which would be set in concrete for the coming centuries.

Maurice Smith
Bloomsbury Place, Brighton