Sir – The garden city movement originally came about due to the concern over overcrowding of industrial cities and the re-population of the countryside. Simply buying up land and developing it with a few nice ‘to haves’ does not make it a garden city.

Garden cities were built with a trust for good governance, zones for housing, industry, shopping, a civic centre, a railway and a density ratio of 5,500 homes per 1,000 acres/400 hectares. The garden city for Oxford for 30,000 homes would require 2,200 hectares surrounded by 10,900 hectares of agricultural land. Has it got this?

Paul Sandford, Kennington