City centre manager Tony Mernagh claims in his support for the proposed development of the Brighton station site (The Argus, November 22) the parking has been "pared to the minimum". Not true.

The minimum is zero, which is exactly the same number Sainsbury's has at its present London Road store. Sainsbury's estimates the proposed 197 parking places will generate an additional 3,000 car journeys a day. These cars will have to use the existing routes in and out of the site, which are already congested.

Mr Mernagh says "plenty of buses will pass nearby". Not true. Roger French, of Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company, says he will not change bus routes to include a new Sainsbury's away from the London Road.

Mr Mernagh claims the supermarket "is a necessary element to generate the income needed to make the rest of the scheme viable". Not true. Brighton and Hove City Council's consultants reported that a housing-led scheme is financially viable.

It is also contrary to central government policy to allow a retail development of this kind solely to provide finance.

The truth is the proposed new Sainsbury's will encourage shoppers to use their cars to shop there and drive straight home again. The claim that shoppers will wander down to the London Road and shop there as well is pure fantasy. You only have to look at the decline of retailing on the Lewes Road to see the damage a new supermarket with a car park can do.

The council should recognise this scheme is fundamentally flawed and not give planning approval.

-Richard Paul-Jones, Coleman Street, Brighton