WE WRITE on behalf of the Amex Area Citizens’ Group in response to a misleading letter – entitled Question Time? – printed in The Argus (June 22).

Its author, James Tucker, refers to the American Express construction site and complaints coming from nearby flats.

Mr Tucker says, “I would like to point out that no resident from Carlton Hill or The Curve flats attended any of the public consultations held at Carlton Hill School”.

This is untrue. Along with residents of White Street and elsewhere, we attended and spoke at all these meetings.

Moreover, we contributed to more than 150 letters of objection received by the planning department.

A group of residents from Carlton Hill, White Street and The Curve attended Brighton and Hove City Council chambers on November 4, 2009, for a hearing before a planning decision later that day. We took up our right to voice an objection at the hearing. The objections we had to the building were overruled on this date.

The objections that form our campaign today relate directly to the council’s failure to act on our behalf in mitigating noise, dust and vibration levels and limiting working hours on the site.

We believe we have grounds to force through immediate changes and some degree of compensation for the injury and economic loss suffered by this beleaguered community since site operations began.

Why should local residents bear the practical and economic brunt of Amex’s state of the art development?

Question Time indeed.

While we didn’t like the development, and still don’t, we do not dispute that Brighton will potentially benefit from it.

We do, however, dispute the way the construction is being managed and monitored. We ask city citizens to understand and support our concerns.

We hope Argus readers – and perhaps even a contrite James Tucker – will acknowledge that our 150-strong residents’ action group has legitimate concerns.

Join us at our demonstration tomorrow at 11am outside The Curve, and then at noon outside Amex House. You can also visit us on Facebook and YouTube.

Phillip Meakins, Richard Hirst, Carole Hayman, Michael Stafrace and Paul Goodwin of Carlton Hill along with Mavis Jolly of White Street, on behalf of the Amex Area Citizens’ Group in Namrik Mews, Hove