Let me be clear that Brighton and Hove City Council has no intention of allowing the Lanes to become known as South Lanes (The Argus, March 17).

Nor have I ever heard anyone else campaigning for such a change. However, I am aware of people using the term in error.

It is based on the notion that the area is the southern counterpart of North Laine. It is not.

I suspect South Lanes has occasionally appeared on council notices as a result of people giving it to officials as their address.

We are asking staff not to repeat it on council documents to avoid fuelling the confusion.

The Lanes is the historic urban centre of Brighton. The various Laines; North, East, West, Hilly and Little were surrounding areas of farmland.

The word laine comes from a Saxon word meaning loan or lease but not "lane".

-David Panter, chief executive, Brighton and Hove City Council