Sir – I know the side of the Churchill Hospital where the new cancer hospital is located, as it is by the renal and transplant wards. It used to be flower meadows, leading to a stream and a pond, with ducks. There were rabbits. Nature was very accessible.

The architect of the new buildings says that his designs were influenced by the belief that no one should be separated from the cycle of nature and sights and sounds of the natural environment. I am glad he thinks that.

And I am glad that the new hospital will provide excellent facilities. I may need them myself one day, who knows?

But it was much easier to be in touch with ‘the cycle of nature’ in the old ‘sprawling warren’ than it will be in any of the new buildings on the site.

That was one of the lucky things about being at the Churchill, and my daughter and I did appreciate it, as did some of the staff.

What the years of destruction of first the trees, then the meadow, and finally the closeness of the stream (behind a steep drop now) taught me is that our way of life destroys some of the things we love and need. I was surprised at the immense sadness I felt as each thing disappeared.

I don’t know what the answer is, but I hope that some people, including maybe this architect, are at least asking the questions.

Artificial gardens do not replace interaction with the natural world. If you are ill, contact with it helps you feel that you haven’t been banished from the world. It can be very healing.

Jeanne Warren, Garsington