With regard to your lead story (The Argus, February 20), are our council leaders trying to blackmail Hove residents over the King Alfred site?

Are they really saying that if we do not build in Hove, Brighton cannot have this wonderful new replacement Brighton Centre.

The present Brighton Centre is not that old. Could we be assured the new one would be any better?

If the Gehry tower is built, I would not want to be in one of the corner flats when another storm as strong as the 1987 version hits, as it eventually will sometime in the future. I assume these will be the cheapest flats on the site.

Also, we are constantly warned of water shortages and asked to save water as much as we can.

Yet we go on building massive complexes. Can anyone explain to me where all the extra water to support the people living in these flats is to be found?

The cost of running our present water companies must be enormous, with millions of pounds wasted on large salaries and massive office buildings.

When Hove had its own water board, it had a small office by Hove Town Hall and inspectors were always out and about checking for leaks which were quickly closed down - and the water bills were a fraction of the price today.

My father once said to me, as he set off to pay his yearly bill: "One thing, son. You will never have any trouble paying this bill."

How things have changed.

-Frank Blake, Hove