Why does Brighton and Hove City Council love to use so much blacktop? My sister and I (both 87) often wonder if it has the attitude "if it doesn't move, cover it in blacktop".

One must remember that the cheapskate cost-cutting by the council will actually cost longer in the future.

The blacktop will crumble every four or five years and those flimsy, style-less benches... I would be surprised if they are not knocked flat by a six-year-old vandal before they have time to even rust.

-Daisy and Dorris, Egremont Place, Brighton