Officers of Brighton and Hove City Council met residents of Regency Square on November 16 to discuss proposed improvements to waste collection and recycling facilities.

Some residents were against the proposals because a small number of parking spaces might be lost. Everyone in Regency Square needs an efficient waste collection service and the whole community needs to do more to recycle waste.

On the other hand, according to the 2001 Census, fewer than half the households in Regency has a car.

I imagine some of these drivers genuinely need a vehicle because their work involves transporting tools or providing welfare support. Likewise, some will be among the five to 16 per cent of Regency residents who are disabled.

It goes without saying that disabled people and others who can prove they genuinely need a vehicle ought to be able to park as near as possible to their front doors.

But a good proportion of the area's car owners has a car in spite of them having chosen to live in an area where parking is notoriously difficult, through choice rather than need.

They have every right to make such choices but they must also accept the downsides.

I applaud the council's efforts to modernise waste collection and urge it not to put the parking convenience of a minority of car owners above the needs of the non-car-owning majority.

Personal lifestyle choices have to fit in with the community, not the other way around.

-Gill Wales, Brighton