Sir – The Warneford Meadow is a priceless resource. It must be preserved for the use of patients and staff at the Warneford and Churchill Hospitals as well as the local residents who value it so greatly and are working so hard to improve it, in a range of imaginative ways.

The admirable foresight of the trustees of the Warneford Hospital, who bought the Meadow for the well-being of their patients in 1918, showed that they understood the vital need for mental health service users to enjoy fresh air and exercise in safe surroundings which are now rich in beauty, bird-song and natural interest.

After 50 years of involvement with mental health care, dating back to the old asylums — which at least had wonderful grounds — to present-day facilities, I have observed the serious pressures caused by poorly planned, overcrowded external hospital environments.

In planning yet more buildings on site, trust managers also seem unaware how intrusive a new housing development would be.

Even the newest wards may feel stifling to people who are locked, in with scant garden space, as in Allen Ward.

Wards can be very noisy and overcrowded places.

Blocking access to the meadow for Warneford staff and patients with a restrictive fence for the past few years demonstrates that OBMH managers simply do not understand the vital importance of trees and green spaces to patient well-being and recovery. Their argument is that patients do not stay in hospital very long; but some people do not move on quickly and all still need daily exercise and a place in which to relax, breathe more freely to feel calmer and to begin to plan their recovery, after what may have been a stressful admission.

Further legal action is a terrible waste of public money when, instead, the trust could work with the Friends of Warneford Meadow to make the most of this wonderful natural resource, inclusively shared by local residents, staff and patients in perpetuity.

Margaret Coombs (Mrs), Oxford