Sir – There are serious problems facing both sides in the dispute over the flats in Roger Dudman Way and their intrusive effect on the view from Port Meadow, and it is difficult to see an easy way out.
I would like to make a constructive suggestion which may not solve the problem but should ameliorate it.
The University should paint the postgraduate flats green. It should also cover the roofs of the new buildings with a layer of soil, and it should plant grass and small shrubs there, to create a ‘living roof’. Once this is bedded down, the effect will be to soften the contours and make the new constructions much less intrusive to the eye, as they will tend to merge with the green background, especially if the right shade of green paint is chosen.
However the dispute proceeds, the University should proceed to do this work immediately, so that the public can see how effective this may be. There is little to lose, and in the course of time the work should pay for itself since the increased insulation provided by the ‘living roof’ will reduce energy costs.
Michel Treisman, Oxford
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